• Original Art: Mary Shelley’s handwritten draft of Frankenstein
• Era: 1816
• Region: Draft begun in Geneva, Switzerland and finished in London, England

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a classic Gothic novel, considered by many to be one of the first works of science fiction. Published in 1818 by English writer Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, it tells the story of the young scientist Victor Frankenstein who creates a living humanoid creature in a boundary-pushing scientific experiment.

It was a fateful 1816 trip through Germany and Switzerland with Shelley’s stepsister, Claire Clairmont, future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron that led to the creation of Frankenstein and his tragic creature. As the story goes, the group travelled along the river Rhine, stopping near Frankenstein Castle where an alchemist was said to have engaged in mysterious experiments two centuries before. Much of the conversation throughout their travels covered topics such as galvanism (related to electric currents) and the occult, and these influences were on Mary Shelley’s mind as they arrived in Geneva. When Byron suggested a competition to see who could write the best ghost story, Shelley drew upon these experiences, as well as her own feelings of grief and guilt over the loss of a child, to craft her tale.

Shelley finished writing in the spring of 1817, and the story was first published in London on January 1, 1818. Though the first edition was published anonymously, it did contain a preface written by her husband and a dedication to her father. Shelley’s name was added to the second edition, published in 1823, and has been inextricably linked to the genre of Gothic horror ever since.

The story tackles universal questions such as “What is my purpose” and “Why am I here” – questions that continue to resonate with reading audiences. In 2019, BBC News listed Frankenstein as one of its 100 Most Influential Novels, and in 2021 it was selected as one of six classic British science fiction novels to be featured on a series of UK postage stamps. Today, Mary Shelley’s handwritten draft of Frankenstein is held at Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford. We are grateful to the Bodleian for allowing us to reproduce this page from such an important piece of literary and feminist history.