This edition of Frankenstein , or The Modern Prometheus , presents Mary Shelley's remarkable novel in several provocative and illuminating contexts: cultural, critical, and literary.

As part of Longman's new Cultural Edition series of novels, Susan Wolfson presents the 1818 version of Mary Shelley's famous novel in its cultural and historical contexts. Like all great works of fiction, Frankenstein gains depth and dimension from its "conversation" with contemporary texts, especially by Shelley's parents, husband, and friends. In addition to the 1818 text, this cultural edition features the introduction to and a sample revision of the 1831 version. A lively introduction to the edition is complemented by a chronology coordinating Shelley's life with key historical events and a speculative calendar of the novel's events in the late eighteenth century.