On January 1, 1818, the first edition of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is published in the UK. Happy Anniversary to one of the absolute major Monster Icons.
200th Anniversary of Frankenstein
- Thread starter Kai "the spy"
- Start date
On January 1, 1818, the first edition of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is published in the UK. Happy Anniversary to one of the absolute major Monster Icons.
Waiting for the movie.You've had 200 years. What's keeping you?
Very cool, but for a second I thought this thread was about Eddie Van Halen's guitar. 
I finally read the book a couple of years ago and part of that reading was while I visited Geneva. I was amused that this was the first time I've read a fictional story in the same location that it was set. Despite the amount I've traveled in the last ten years, I was a little surprised it hadn't happened sooner.
I've always known that most depictions of Frankenstein and its characters are far from Shelley's creation, but I was genuinely surprised by what I read. I knew the Creature was more intelligent in her story, but I had no idea he spoke so eloquently and articulately. When the Creature finally caught up with Victor in the Alps and recited his tale since his awakening, I was completely floored by his dialogue. I had already loved the novel up to that point with the way the story was framed and the vague nature of Victor's work, but reading the Creature's anguish moved me in ways I hadn't expected.
Now I understand why The Eighth Doctor enjoyed her company so much.
I've always known that most depictions of Frankenstein and its characters are far from Shelley's creation, but I was genuinely surprised by what I read. I knew the Creature was more intelligent in her story, but I had no idea he spoke so eloquently and articulately. When the Creature finally caught up with Victor in the Alps and recited his tale since his awakening, I was completely floored by his dialogue. I had already loved the novel up to that point with the way the story was framed and the vague nature of Victor's work, but reading the Creature's anguish moved me in ways I hadn't expected.
Now I understand why The Eighth Doctor enjoyed her company so much.
...and did drugs and group sex. Maybe.
Dracula is an easier read, more "modern," but Frankenstein is shorter and much sharper. In fact, the two things have nothing in common and so it's pretty funny that they converged in the twentieth century to become such an endlessly used pop culture thing.
Dracula is an easier read, more "modern," but Frankenstein is shorter and much sharper. In fact, the two things have nothing in common and so it's pretty funny that they converged in the twentieth century to become such an endlessly used pop culture thing.
Waiting for the movie.
It was made twenty plus years ago. Starred Kenneth Branaugh and Robert DeNiro. Great adaption of the novel.Check it out.
Might not have been as compelling in the "Fire...bad!!" of the Universal monster.
Seen it.It was made twenty plus years ago. Starred Kenneth Branaugh and Robert DeNiro. Great adaption of the novel.Check it out.
I always knew the Universal monster was rubbish, but I didn't realize how badly until I finally read the novel. It's a damn shame the general public image of Shelley's creation is a green lumbering idiot.
It was made twenty plus years ago. Starred Kenneth Branaugh and Robert DeNiro. Great adaption of the novel.Check it out.
The best adaptation ever!
I once wrote part of a fictional story in the same location that it was set. I set a scene of my X-Men novel Watchers on the Walls at my local university, and I took my laptop around the campus to the various places I was describing as the action moved across it, so that the chapter was basically "shot on location." Which is not something I can say very often, given that most of my fiction takes place in outer space...
And all from a teenage girl who had off run to Switzerland with a married man . . .
There's this contingent of right-wing misogynist fanboys these days who are vocal in their outrage at any SF or fantasy or comics or games that include women and infringe on their No Gurlz Alloud clubhouse, and they're just such idiots, since it was a woman, Mary Shelley, who basically invented science fiction. Not to mention inventing superheroes, since the first fictional masked hero with a dual identity was the Scarlet Pimpernel, created by Baroness Orczy. (Plus, the world's first computer programmer was Ada Lovelace, so basically everything geeks love today was a female invention.)
Oh, the Universal movies are terrific in their own way. They're basically a parallel creation built around the same themes. Karloff's monster may not be as articulate as Shelley's, but the core message is the same, that he's not intrinsically evil but merely driven to lash out by the intolerance and cruelty of others. He's not an idiot, he's a child deprived of love. Of course, that does get lost in the later sequels, but the first two or three are classics -- as is Young Frankenstein, a parody that makes a better, more faithful, and more thoughtful sequel than many of the "serious" sequels.
I absolutely agree with the gist of your post, but can't resist nitpicking: the Scarlet Pimpernel did not wear a mask or costume. He was a master of disguise with a secret identity, but he didn't have a distinctive costume. But, yes, you can trace a direct straight from the Pimpernel to Zorro to Superman and Batman, etc. In particular, the Baroness pretty much invented the whole Clark-Lois-Superman triangle.
"Oh, Percy, why can't you be as brave and dashing as the Scarlet Pimpernel?"
(If only she knew . . . !)
