Celebrating Sci-Fy Genre with Frankenstein and Mary Shelley
Why Frankenstein and what do you think you add to the tale as originally told by Mary Shelley? An April 1818 review of Mary Shelley ’ s Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus in The British Critic: ‘ The writer of it is, we understand, a female; this is an aggravation of that which is the prevailing fault of the novel; but if our authoress can forget the gentleness of her sex, it is no reason why we should; and we shall therefore dismiss the novel without further comment. ’ Mary Shelley shocked, disconcerted and excited the booklovers and literati of the period when she breathed life into her wretch. Not only because she was a women — a girl of eighteen years — but because she advocated and opened discussions about deep-rooted beliefs and uncertainties in theology, science, the plight of mankind, and the social acceptance of those that are different. By comparison, the readership of the 21 st Century is well acquainted with the properti...
