AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 4970052801571906016.png
This image has been sourced from online.
y separately published work icon Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (International) assertion single work   novel   horror  
Issue Details: First known date: 1818... 1818 Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Victor Frankenstein, a Swiss scientist, has a great ambition: to create intelligent life. But when his creature first stirs, he realizes he has made a monster. A monster which, abandoned by his master and shunned by everyone who sees it, sets out to destroy Dr Frankenstein with murder and horrors to the very ends of the earth.' (Source: Penguin)

Adaptations

y separately published work icon Ape of God Vol Molesworth , Sydney : Currawong , 1942 Z955730 1942 single work novel science fiction thriller
y separately published work icon Monster at Large Vol Molesworth , Sydney : Currawong , 1942 Z955743 1942 single work novel science fiction thriller
y separately published work icon Recreation : A Modern Fable Inspired by Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" Tony Moore , 2000 Kilkenny : Moore Books , 2013 6567561 2000 single work drama
y separately published work icon Frankenstein Margrete Lamond , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 2005 Z1221979 2005 single work children's fiction children's horror

'Frankenstein is the story of a young scientist who learns the secret of creating life. Fueled by a burning ambition for fame and glory, Frankenstein builds a hideous patchwork body out of scavenged corpses, but no sooner does he animate the gruesome creature than he abandons it in horror.

Longing for love and companionship, the monster looks elsewhere for affection, but finds himself cruelly shunned wherever he goes. At last--grotesque and misunderstood, frustrated and alone--the creature turns to violence and hate.

Frankenstein's reckless experiment is doomed to failure, ending in tragedy and ruin as the raging monster wreaks his revenge.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)
Frankenstein Lally Katz , 2017 single work drama

Adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel.
y separately published work icon Frankenstein Christine Davey , 2023 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2023 26060635 2023 single work drama

'A startling, unsettling and hugely theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelley’s timeless classic, produced by award-winning playwright Christine Davey, Skin of our Teeth Productions and La Mama Theatre.

'A funny, thoughtful, horrific and remarkable story of love, power, friendship, betrayal and every emotion in between.

'Frankenstein is a larger-than-life (and death) production celebrating and unleashing the monster in all of us. A visceral piece of theatre that grabs at your heart and soul and never lets go.

'The future is female and here she comes, ready or not.' (Publication summary)

Notes

  • For further information on the influence of Frankenstein on Louis Nowra see The Theatre of Louis Nowra by Veronica Kelly.

  • Contents indexed selectively.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Maver & Jones ,       1818 .
      image of person or book cover 4970052801571906016.png
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 3v.p.
      Note/s:

      • Dedication: To William Godwin Author of Political Justice, Caleb Williams &c. These Volumes are respectfully inscribed by The Author.

      • Epigraph:

        Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

        To mould me man? Did I solicit thee

        From darkness to promote me?

        Paradise Lost.

VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Related Works

y separately published work icon Ape of God Vol Molesworth , Sydney : Currawong , 1942 Z955730 1942 single work novel science fiction thriller
y separately published work icon Monster at Large Vol Molesworth , Sydney : Currawong , 1942 Z955743 1942 single work novel science fiction thriller
y separately published work icon Born of the Sea Victor Kelleher , Camberwell : Viking , 2003 Z1035062 2003 single work novel horror historical fiction

'A great Gothic tale revisited. In Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', the monster's unfinished "bride" is destroyed by Dr Frankenstein and cast into the sea. But what if she had survived? What if she had gone on to seek out her maker, her origins, her would-be husband? 

Madeleine Sauvage is a creature with a beautiful face attached to a grotesquely assembled body. She has a loving heart but a murderous hand, and a heart-wrenching longing to belong. Born of the sea, Madeleine begins a journey that takes her from Scotland, through revolutionary France, to Frankenstein's door and beyond. Her search ends in a sense where it began: with Mary Shelley, the true author of her soul. And it is at Mary's deathbed that she confesses all, about her life, her love, and her need for revenge... '

Source: Publisher's blurb.
form y separately published work icon I, Frankenstein Stuart Beattie , ( dir. Stuart Beattie ) Australia United States of America (USA) : Hopscotch Features Lakeshore Entertainment , 2013 Z1898879 2013 single work film/TV horror science fiction

'Frankenstein's monster, named Adam and having taken the surname of his creator, becomes involved in a war between two immortal clans in an ancient city.'

Source: Screen Australia (http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/news_and_events/2012/ia_121115_MultiplatformClinic.aspx#sthash.hei4xA2U.dpuf). (Sighted: 13/1/2014)
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (4)

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Frankenstein Christine Davey , 2023 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2023 26060635 2023 single work drama

'A startling, unsettling and hugely theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelley’s timeless classic, produced by award-winning playwright Christine Davey, Skin of our Teeth Productions and La Mama Theatre.

'A funny, thoughtful, horrific and remarkable story of love, power, friendship, betrayal and every emotion in between.

'Frankenstein is a larger-than-life (and death) production celebrating and unleashing the monster in all of us. A visceral piece of theatre that grabs at your heart and soul and never lets go.

'The future is female and here she comes, ready or not.' (Publication summary)
form y separately published work icon Mary Shelley Emma Jensen , ( dir. Haifaa Al-Mansour ) United Kingdom (UK) Luxembourg United States of America (USA) : IFC Films HanWay Films , 2017 15377218 2017 single work film/TV

'MARY SHELLEY tells the story of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Elle Fanning) - author of one of the world's most famous Gothic novels 'Frankenstein' - and her fiery, tempestuous relationship with renowned romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (Douglas Booth.) The pair are two outsiders constrained by polite society but bound together by a natural chemistry and progressive ideas that are beyond the boundaries of their age and time. Mary and Percy declare their love for each other and much to her family's horror they run away together, joined by Mary's half-sister Claire (Bel Powley.) In the midst of growing tension within their relationship during their stay at Lord Byron's (Tom Sturridge) house at Lake Geneva, the idea of Frankenstein is conceived when a challenge is put to all houseguests to write a ghost story. An incredible character is created, which will loom large in popular culture for centuries to come, but society at the time puts little value in female authors. At the tender age of 18, Mary is forced to challenge these preconceptions, to protect her work and to forge her own identity.'

Source: Production blurb.
‘Even If They Were to Leave Europe’ : Frankenstein in Tasmania Leigh Dale , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Kunapipi , vol. 34 no. 2 2012; (p. 93-101) 'Since the early nineteenth century, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has served as a narrative model for those writing of science and ambition. For example, a contemporary journalist trying to explain the modus operandi of biologist and science entrepreneur J. Craig Venter, who was involved in the first sequencing of the human genome and was leader of the first team to create a cell with a synthetic genome, turned to the protagonist of Shelley’s 1818 novel as a point of reference for a description of his subject:...' (Publication abstract)
Adventures in Malley Country : Concerning Peter Carey's My Life as a Fake Ross Chambers , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: Cultural Studies Review , March vol. 11 no. 1 2005; (p. 27-51) Reflecting on the relationship between life and art, the author compares My Life as a Fake with literary monster stories and literary hoaxes (such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or the Ern Malley affair). He argues that life-as-a-fake 'is constructed for us all by our culture' (p.49), and that Carey's novel constitutes a 'supplementaion' rather than a 'replacement' of life/reality.
The Book That Changed My Life : Kim Wilkins Kim Wilkins , 1999 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 28 March 1999; (p. 17)
The Book That Changed My Life : Kim Wilkins Kim Wilkins , 1999 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 28 March 1999; (p. 17)
y separately published work icon The Theatre of Louis Nowra Veronica Kelly , Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 1998 Z543914 1998 single work criticism
‘Even If They Were to Leave Europe’ : Frankenstein in Tasmania Leigh Dale , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Kunapipi , vol. 34 no. 2 2012; (p. 93-101) 'Since the early nineteenth century, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has served as a narrative model for those writing of science and ambition. For example, a contemporary journalist trying to explain the modus operandi of biologist and science entrepreneur J. Craig Venter, who was involved in the first sequencing of the human genome and was leader of the first team to create a cell with a synthetic genome, turned to the protagonist of Shelley’s 1818 novel as a point of reference for a description of his subject:...' (Publication abstract)
Frankenstein: A/Scent of Disgust i "That man is an idea", Christine Lindberg , 1994 single work poetry
— Appears in: Mattoid , no. 48 (p. 59-63)
Mary and the Scientist i "A scientist goes back in time.", Jayne Fenton-Keane , 1997 single work poetry
— Appears in: LiNQ , October vol. 24 no. 2 1997; (p. 31-32)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (9)
Last amended 27 Sep 2018 09:22:46
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Orkney Islands,
    c
    Scotland,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • North Pole, Arctic,
  • c
    Ireland,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • Perth,
    c
    Scotland,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • Geneva,
    c
    Switzerland,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
Influence on:
My Life as a Fake
Carey on Writing
The Burlesque of Frankenstein ; Or, The Man-Gorilla
Doctor Frank's Monster
The Facts of Dr Van Helsing's Case
Monster
Lawnmowersakiwoodcuttingmopenstein
Dr Frankenstein Junior
I, Frankenstein
The Rabbi's Daughter
Summer of Monsters
Creatures : The Legacy of Frankenstein
Frankenstein Monstrance
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X