Making the Monster

2018-02-08 Literary Criticism

Author : Kathryn Harkup
Release : 2018-02-08
Genre : Literary Criticism
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 753/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Making the Monster by : Kathryn Harkup

Download or read book Making the Monster written by Kathryn Harkup. This book was released on 2018-02-08. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thrilling and gruesome look at the science that influenced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The year 1818 saw the publication of one of the most influential science-fiction stories of all time. Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley had a huge impact on the gothic horror and science-fiction genres, and her creation has become part of our everyday culture, from cartoons to Hallowe'en costumes. Even the name 'Frankenstein' has become a by-word for evil scientists and dangerous experiments. How did a teenager with no formal education come up with the idea for such an extraordinary novel? Clues are dotted throughout Georgian science and popular culture. The years before the book's publication saw huge advances in our understanding of the natural sciences, in areas such as electricity and physiology, for example. Sensational science demonstrations caught the imagination of the general public, while the newspapers were full of lurid tales of murderers and resurrectionists. Making the Monster explores the scientific background behind Mary Shelley's book. Is there any science fact behind the science fiction? And how might a real-life Victor Frankenstein have gone about creating his monster? From tales of volcanic eruptions, artificial life and chemical revolutions, to experimental surgery, 'monsters' and electrical experiments on human cadavers, Kathryn Harkup examines the science and scientists that influenced Shelley, and inspired her most famous creation.

The Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein

2021-10-22

Author : Sharon Ruston
Release : 2021-10-22
Genre :
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 574/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein by : Sharon Ruston

Download or read book The Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein written by Sharon Ruston. This book was released on 2021-10-22. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is life? This was a question of particular concern for Mary Shelley and her contemporaries. But how did she, and her fellow Romantic writers, incorporate this debate into their work, and how much were they influenced by contemporary science, medicine and personal loss?This book is the first to compile the many attempts in science and medicine to account for life and death in Mary Shelley's time. It considers what her contemporaries thought of air, blood, sunlight, electricity and other elements believed to be most essential for living. Mary Shelley's (and her circle's) knowledge of science and medicine is carefully examined, alongside the work of key scientific and medical thinkers, including John Abernethy, James Curry, Humphry Davy, John Hunter, William Lawrence and Joseph Priestley. Frankenstein demonstrates what Mary Shelley knew of the advice given by medical practitioners for the recovery of persons drowned, hanged or strangled and explores the contemporary scientific basis behind Victor Frankenstein's idea that life and death were merely 'ideal bounds' he could transgress in the making of the Creature. Interweaving images of the manuscript, portraits, medical instruments and contemporary diagrams into her narrative, Sharon Ruston shows how this extraordinary tale is steeped in historical scientific and medical thought exploring the fascinating boundary between life and death.

Frankenstein's Science

2016 Literary Criticism

Author : Jane Goodall
Release : 2016
Genre : Literary Criticism
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 993/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Frankenstein's Science by : Jane Goodall

Download or read book Frankenstein's Science written by Jane Goodall. This book was released on 2016. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has inspired a vast body of criticism, there are no book-length studies that contextualise this widely taught novel in contemporary scientific and literary debates. The essays in this volume by leading writers in their fields provide new historical scholarship into areas of science and pseudo-science that generated fierce controversy in Mary Shelley's time: anatomy, electricity, medicine, teratology, Mesmerism, quackery and proto-evolutionary biology. The collection embraces a multifaceted view of the exciting cultural climate in Britain and Europe from 1780 to 1830. While Frankenstein is all too often read as a cautionary tale of the inherent dangers of uncontrolled scientific experimentation, the essays here take the reader back to a period when experimenters and radical thinkers viewed science as the harbinger of social innovation that would counter the virulent conservative backlash following the French Revolution. The collection will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars specialising in Romanticism, cultural history, philosophy and the history of science.

Frankenstein's Daughters

1997-04-01 Literary Criticism

Author : Jane L. Donawerth
Release : 1997-04-01
Genre : Literary Criticism
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 862/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Frankenstein's Daughters by : Jane L. Donawerth

Download or read book Frankenstein's Daughters written by Jane L. Donawerth. This book was released on 1997-04-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women Science fiction authors—past and present—are united by the problems they face in attempting to write in this genre, an overwhelmingly male-dominated field. Science fiction has been defined by male-centered, scientific discourse that describes women as alien "others" rather than rational beings. This perspective has defined the boundaries of science fiction, resulting in women writers being excluded as equal participants in the genre. Frankenstein's Daughters explores the different strategies women have used to negotiate the minefields of their chosen career: they have created a unique utopian science formulated by and for women, with women characters taking center stage and actively confronting oppressors. This type of depiction is a radical departure from the condition where women are relegated to marginal roles within the narratives. Donawerth takes a comprehensive look at the field and explores the works of authors such as Mary Shelley, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Anne McCaffrey.

Frankenstein's Science

2008 Literary Criticism

Author : Christa Knellwolf King
Release : 2008
Genre : Literary Criticism
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 476/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Frankenstein's Science by : Christa Knellwolf King

Download or read book Frankenstein's Science written by Christa Knellwolf King. This book was released on 2008. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Frankenstein's Science contextualizes this widely taught novel in contemporary scientific and literary debates, providing new historical scholarship into areas of science and pseudo-science that generated fierce controversy in Mary Shelley's time: anatomy

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Making the Monster

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