hey there hi there, it's #WorldBookDay and i'm here to talk about my favorite book of all time: "frankenstein" by mary shelley

background: "frankenstein" was written as part of a competition between shelley, her husband percy, and their friend lord byron. the task was simple-write the best horror story you can. shelley started writing it at age 18 and was 20 by the time it was published

after thinking on what to write as part of the competition, shelley dreamt of a scientist who was horrified at what he created, and this was the basis of her story.

WHY IT MATTERS: shelley, a young woman at the time, out-wrote two male contemporaries in the early 1800s

its impact: "frankenstein" has since been revered as initiating the genre of science fiction, tying together romanticism and the gothic genre in order to create a tried and true "experiment gone wrong" story

themes: culpability, the idea of humanity and what it's made of, what constitutes life, what constitutes a GOOD life, selflessness vs selfishness, dangerous ambition, what constitutes as family, and SO much more! it's much more than a simple monster story

literary allusions: "frankenstein"'s alternative title is the modern promethus, the titan who earned the wrath of the gods by bestowing fire unto humanity and in some cases, creating humans in the likeness of gods. promethus and victor frankenstein are one in the same

why you should read it: "frankenstein" is a novel that is vastly different than its many portrayals in pop culture. it is a gothic masterpiece that begs one to think of the moralities of creationism and existence as a human individual. also it's a quick read and public domain!