The Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein

Ruston, Sharon

ISBN 10: 185124557X / ISBN 13: 9781851245574

Published by Bodleian Library Publishing, 2021

About this Item

Fine hardback in Fine dustwrapper. As new. 152 pp 8vo hardback in dustwrapper. The picture on this listing page is of the actual book for sale.

Seller Inventory # 54580

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein
• Publisher: Bodleian Library Publishing
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 185124557X
• ISBN 13: 9781851245574
• Binding: Hardcover
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • English Literature/Poetry/Drama

About this title

Synopsis

The first book to compile the historical scientific and medical thought that influenced Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

What is life? This was a question of particular concern for Mary Shelley. But how did Shelley and her fellow Romantic writers incorporate this debate into their work, and how much were they influenced by contemporary science and medicine?

The Science of Life and Death in "Frankenstein" is the first book to synthesize the scientific and medical thinking about life and death during Mary Shelley’s lifetime. Sharon Ruston explores the contemporary scientific basis behind Victor Frankenstein’s idea that life and death were merely ‘ideal bounds’ he could transgress in the making of the Creature. Ruston contextualizes the novel alongside the work of the key scientific and medical thinkers of the day, including John Abernethy, James Curry, Humphry Davy, John Hunter, William Lawrence, and Joseph Priestley.

The book also examines what Mary Shelley herself knew and believed about the boundaries of life and death. Interweaving images of the Frankenstein manuscript, portraits, medical instruments, and contemporary diagrams, Ruston shows how this extraordinary tale is steeped in historical scientific and medical thought.

About the Author

Sharon Ruston is chair in Romanticism in the English literature and creative writing department at Lancaster University.