Conceivedaspartofaliterarygameamongfriendsin1816,MaryShelley’sFrankensteinistodayregardedasaclassicpieceof19thcenturyliterature.Thestorybeginswiththejourneyofanadventurer,RobertWalton,whosavesthelifeofamanattheNorthPole.Thatman,VictorFrankenstein,tellsWaltonabouthisexperimentswiththecreationoflifeandhowheendedupattheNorthPole.Throughthissimpleplotdevice,Shelleywasabletodealwithseriousreal-worldissueslikeacceptance,tolerance,andunderstanding,aswellastheuniversalhumanneedforcompanionshipandlove.Thenovel,ofcourse,inspiredahostoffilms,fromthe1931classicstarringBorisKarlofftoAndyWarhol’sFrankenstein,andmorerecently,aseriesofnovelsbyDeanKoontz.Thisversion,thoughslightlyabridged,retainsmuchoftheoriginaldialogueandremainstruetoShelley’sbrilliantvision.
