Skip to content

Penguin English Library Frankenstein
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Penguin English Library Frankenstein Paperback - 2012

by Mary Shelley


About this book

Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus is a Gothic novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818. The story revolves around Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a monstrous creature and immediately regrets his actions, abandoning the creature to its own devices. The creature, seeking acceptance and revenge, terrorizes Victor and those he loves. Themes of ambition, ethics, humanity, and loneliness are explored through Shelley's vivid descriptions of the natural world and her characters' psychological torment. Frankenstein remains a classic of Gothic literature and a seminal work of science fiction.

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin wrote the first draft of her groundbreaking novel in 1816, while on a trip to Lake Geneva with her soon-to-be husband, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and poet Lord Byron. They were stuck indoors during famously known as the Year Without a Summer.




From the publisher

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World' The Penguin English Library Edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

'Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome, yet appalling hideousness' A twisted, upside-down creation myth, Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale lays bare the dark side of science, and the horror within us all. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who plunders graveyards to create a new being from the bodies of the dead - but whose botched creature causes nothing but murder and destruction. Written after a nightmare when its author was only eighteen, Frankenstein gave birth to the modern science fiction novel. The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

First Edition Identification

A small London publishing house, Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones, first printed Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus in a limited series of just 500 copies on January 1, 1818. By then, Mary was just 20 years old. The first edition was published anonymously in 1818, with a preface by Percy B. Shelley and a dedication to Mary’s father, philosopher William Godwin. Mary Shelley didn’t publicly claim her novel until years later, and her name appears in the second edition, published in 1823. First edition original pasteboards were in blueish gray.

First editions are very scarce and exceptionally rare on the market. In 2021 one of the first 500 copies of the novel was sold at auction for $1.17 million. It was the first Frankenstein first edition copy to be auctioned since 1985.


Details

  • Title Penguin English Library Frankenstein
  • Author Mary Shelley
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 250
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Group, London
  • Date 2012
  • ISBN 9780141198965 / 0141198966
  • Weight 0.44 lbs (0.20 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.74 x 5.1 x 0.5 in (19.66 x 12.95 x 1.27 cm)
  • Reading level 490
  • Dewey Decimal Code 823.7

About the author

Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the daughter of pioneering thinkers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, eloped with the poet Percy Shelley at the age of sixteen. Three years later, during a wet summer on Lake Geneva, Shelley famously wrote her masterpiece, Frankenstein. The years of her marriage were blighted by the deaths of three of her four children, and further tragedy followed in 1822, when Percy Shelley drowned in Italy. Following his death, Mary Shelley returned to England and continued to travel and write until her own death at the age of fifty-three.
Back to Top

More Copies for Sale

Frankenstein: Mary Shelley (The Penguin English Library)
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Frankenstein: Mary Shelley (The Penguin English Library)

by Shelley, Mary

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780141198965 / 0141198966
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Thetford, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$7.46
NZ$106.21 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Classics, 2012-04-26. Paperback. Good. 1.5988 in x 19.5851 in x 12.7903 in.
Item Price
NZ$7.46
NZ$106.21 shipping to USA
Frankenstein: Mary Shelley (The Penguin English Library)

Frankenstein: Mary Shelley (The Penguin English Library)

by Shelley, Mary

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780141198965 / 0141198966
Quantity Available
4
Seller
GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$7.88
NZ$18.21 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Paperback. Very Good.
Item Price
NZ$7.88
NZ$18.21 shipping to USA
Frankenstein: Mary Shelley (The Penguin English Library)

Frankenstein: Mary Shelley (The Penguin English Library)

by Shelley, Mary

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780141198965 / 0141198966
Quantity Available
1
Seller
GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$7.88
NZ$18.21 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Paperback. Acceptable.
Item Price
NZ$7.88
NZ$18.21 shipping to USA
Frankenstein

Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley

  • New
  • Paperback
Condition
New
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780141198965 / 0141198966
Quantity Available
10
Seller
Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$18.55
NZ$21.14 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Paperback / softback. New. Tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who plunders graveyards to create a new being from the bodies of the dead - but whose botched creature causes nothing but murder and destruction.
Item Price
NZ$18.55
NZ$21.14 shipping to USA
Penguin English Library Frankenstein (The Penguin English Library)

Penguin English Library Frankenstein (The Penguin English Library)

by Shelley, Mary

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780141198965 / 0141198966
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$15.16
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Classic, 2012. Paperback. Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
NZ$15.16
FREE shipping to USA
Penguin English Library Frankenstein (The Penguin English Library)

Penguin English Library Frankenstein (The Penguin English Library)

by Shelley, Mary

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780141198965 / 0141198966
Quantity Available
2
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$15.16
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Classic, 2012. Paperback. Acceptable. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
NZ$15.16
FREE shipping to USA
Frankenstein

Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley

  • New
  • Paperback
Condition
New
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780141198965 / 0141198966
Quantity Available
98
Seller
Uxbridge, Greater London, United Kingdom
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$19.10
NZ$16.97 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Paperback / softback. New. New Book; Fast Shipping from UK; Not signed; Not First Edition; Tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who plunders graveyards to create a new being from the bodies of the dead - but whose botched creature causes nothing but murder and destruction.
Item Price
NZ$19.10
NZ$16.97 shipping to USA