Frankenstein the First Two Hundred Years

Frankenstein lives! 200 years of the book, the movies and the monster in pop culture and beyond

On New Year’s Day 1818, Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein was first published in an anonymous three-volume edition of 500 copies. Some thought the book was too radical in its implications; a few found the central theme intriguing; no-one predicted its success.

Since then, there have been many, many adaptations―120 films alone, at the last count―on screen, stage, in novels, comics and graphic novels, in advertisements and even on cereal packets. From a Regency nightmare, Frankenstein became a cuddly childhood companion―thoroughly munstered, so to speak. The story has been interpreted as a feminist allegory of birthing, an ecological reading of mother earth, an attack on masculinist science, the origin of science fiction, an example of “female gothic,” a reaction to the rise of the industrial proletariat and much else besides. Frankenstein lives! The F word has been applied, since the 1950s, to test-tube babies, heart transplants, prosthetics, robotics, cosmetic surgery, genetic engineering, genetically modified crops and numerous other public anxieties arising from scientific research. Today, Frankenstein has taken over from Adam and Eve as the creation myth for the age of genetic engineering.

This book, celebrating the 200th birthday of Frankenstein, traces the journey of Shelley’s Frankenstein from limited-edition literature into the bloodstream of contemporary culture. With text by renowned Gothic scholar Sir Christopher Frayling, it includes new research on the novel’s origins; a facsimile reprint of the earliest-known manuscript version of the creation scene; visual material on adaptations for the stage, in magazines, on playbills, in prints and in book publications of the 19th century; visual essays on many of the film versions and their inspirations in the history of art; and Frankenstein in popular culture―on posters, advertisements, packaging, in comics and graphic novels.

Half scholarly study, half art book, 'The First Two Hundred Years' offers some great details about the story's blockbuster success on the stage, and you-know-this-one glimpses of the movie versions of everyone's favorite monster... Frayling's an old hand at cultural histories, and his wry narration feels like a casual lecture from an aficionado. (Genevieve Valentine NPR)

Horror fans are very well served by Christopher Frayling’s, 'Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years'. (Sci Fi Bulletin)

...amply illustrated history of thenovel and its enduring fascination...Through prints, paintings, ephemera and photography, Frayling traces the creature’s visual evolution...between grindhouse film posters, New Yorker cartoons, postage stamps and the excellent woodcuts Lynd Kendall Ward created for a 1934 edition of the novel. The sheer quantity demonstrates just how thoroughly the creature has saturated contemporary culture... (Zoe Lescaze The New York Times)

Horror Highlights: Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years (Derek Anderson Daily Dead)

Frankenstein: The First 200 Years to Hit Bookshelves by Halloween (Angela DiLella n3rdabl3)

Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years Celebrates the Legacy of Mary Shelley’s Creation (Jonathan Barkan Dread Central)

Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years by Christopher Frayling celebrates the 200th birthday of Frankenstein by tracing the journey of Mary Shelley’s creation from limited-edition literature to pop culture standby. (Everett Jones Publisher's Weekly)

Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years by Christopher Frayling celebrates the 200th birthday of Frankenstein by tracing the journey of Mary Shelley’s creation from limited- edition literature to pop culture standby. (Jones Everett Publishers Weekly)