Monsters

MONSTERS: MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN AND MATHILDA is the publication of Mary Shelley’s most popular works, accompanied by a critical introduction and commentary by professor and scholar Claire Milllkin Raymond. Cultures create and ascribe meaning to monsters, endowing them with characteristics derived from their most deep-seated fears and taboos. In this volume, Millikin Raymond explores both Frankenstein and Mathilda from a feminist and cultural studies perspective. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, conceived by nineteen-year old Shelley, and published before she was twenty, is the most famous and enduring imaginative work of the Romantic era. Shelley was keenly aware of contemporary scientific developments and incorporated them into Frankenstein. First issued in 1818, it has never been out of print, and has gone on to inspire legions of writers, scholars, professors, actors, theatrical producers, filmmakers, and even scientists. We publish here the 1831 edition, which was revised by Mary Shelley as an adult. Mathilda, Shelley’s second long work of fiction written between August 1819 and February 1820, deals with incest and suicide. It was published for the first time in 1959 and has become Shelley’s best-known work after Frankenstein. We present here the version edited by Elizabeth Nitchie in 1959. Frankenstein and Mathilda capture readers by force of their astonishing fantasy and range of implication: the definition of “monster,” which Millikin Raymond explores as well as other aspects of the Shelley’s work. MONSTERS will resonate forcefully for readers with a background or interest in science, science fiction, history, literature, and anyone intrigued by the fundamental questions of creativity and responsibility. Cover art: Dé-Jon Graves.