Bøker av Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley wrote 'The Transformation' having been challenged by Lord Byron to pen an original ghost story. Eighteen months later, it became the classic novel, Frankenstein. The original tale provides fascinating insight into the story's genesis and beginnings. Many of the horror stories of monsters and ghouls, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

A brilliant, early dystopian tale, 'The Last Man' is a powerful, post-apocalyptic tale and precursor to the later science fiction of H.G. Wells, George Orwell, Philip K. Dick and Harlan Ellison amongst others. Overshadowed by the titanic success of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley's neglected masterpiece tells of a future laid waste by plague.

On a ship in the Arctic, Victor Frankenstein - ill and tired - tells the story of his sad life to the British man of science, Robert Walton. He speaks, too, about the terrible creature that he made from dead body parts when he was a university science student. He hates this monster, which has destroyed his life.

What you create can destroy you. Victor Frankenstein's story is one of ambition, murder and revenge. As a young scientist he pushed moral boundaries in order to cross the final frontier and create life. But his creation is a monster stitched together from grave-robbed body parts who has no place in the world, and his life can only lead to tragedy.

First published in 1831 and here presented with the supernatural stories `The Evil Eye' and `The Immortal Mortal', the chilling Gothic tale `Transformation' is a paragon of the genre by the author of Frankenstein. "

With like many great works of art, 'Frankenstein' was initially misunderstood. The first reviews were decidedly mixed. An anonymous review in The Literary Panorama and National Register published June 1 1818 dismissed Shelley's work as 'a feeble imitation of one that was very popular in its day.' Other periodicals were kinder. Writing in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine on 20 March 1818, Walter Scott praised the unusual Gothic Romance as a "tale, though wild in incident, is written in plain and forcible English, without exhibiting that mixture of hyperbolical Germanisms with which tales of wonder are usually told." 'Frankenstein and the Critics' presents a selection of the most prominent reviews from the time of Frankenstein's publication. Also included is Mary Shelley's uncensored 1818 text often labeled 'Frankenstein 1818' presented in its unabridged entirety. This is the original, 1818 text. In 1831, the more traditionally first "popular" edition in one volume appeared.

Frankenstein is the story of an eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Victorundertakes an unconventional experiment, succeeds in creating a living being but with horrifyingresults. Written by Mary Shelley when she was young, this story is the first science-fiction novelto achieve cult status, and is a bone-chilling read.Victor Frankenstein, born into an affluent Swiss family, seeks knowledge and goes on to explorenew fields in science. He ends up creating a ghastly being and hastily abandons it. But his creation,longs for his companionship. The creature is feared and hated by everyone because of its monstrousappearance. It is soon filled with hatred for his creator when he realizes why he is abhorred by thesociety. He then decides to seek him with terrible vengeance and things go spiraling down fromthere. This conflict between the creator and his creation and its irrevocable consequences formthe central theme of Frankenstein

Mary Shelley, whose Frankenstein is the foundation of modern SF, fantasy and horror fiction, was born to the writer William Godwin and social campaigner Mary Wollstonecraft. This new, special collection brings together extracts of her novels and short stories, with an emphasis on the supernatural.

'You must hear my tale. You must hear my terrible, terrible tale.'

"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change."The young scientist Victor Frankenstein experiments with alchemy to fulfil his greatest ambition: to create life. Once he succeeds and his creature takes its first breath, he realises he has made a monster and abandons it. The creature, shunned by the world and filled with rage, decides to follow its master. One of the most famous horror novels of all time and considered by many to be the first science-fiction novel, Shelley's masterpiece has entertained and horrified its readers for 200 years.The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice''s Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver's TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

Tales from a Mistress of the GothicMary Shelley is possibly one of the most renowned women authors of all time. She is, of course, the literary creator of the iconic Frankenstein's monster and that alone has guaranteed it and her immortality rivalled only by Bram Stoker's Dracula in the pantheon of the bizarre. Beyond her most famous literary work, 'Frankenstein,' she possessed an incredible creative talent, responsible for a dazzling collection of novels, short stories, essays, plays, biographies and travel books. Mary Shelley was an independent, free thinking woman, decades before her time, who strongly adhered the ideals of her father, the political philosopher William Godwin and her mother, the feminist and liberal Mary Wollstonecraft. She notoriously-for her time-became the mistress of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and she subsequently married him upon the suicide of his wife. Those familiar with 'Frankenstein' will not be surprised to find it within this special collection, but those for whom it will be a new experience will discover a superb work of fiction which towers above our perceptions of it from its familiarity through film and television. Fortunately, Mary Shelley did not confine her excursions into the other worldly, weird and Gothic to just this tale of the 'man-made' man. This two volume edition contains two novels and many shorter pieces in testament to Mary Shelley's talent for the literature of the macabre.The second volume of this special collection of Mary Shelley's literary excursions into the bizarre and horrific includes the substantial novel, 'The Last Man.' This fine tale languished in obscurity until after the middle of the 20th century and is another good example of the writing and thoughts of an author far ahead of her time. It tells of a future post-apocalyptic world ravaged and massively depopulated by plague. If the theme seems a familiar one today, it should be remembered Shelley published 'The Last Man' in 1826. It is joined here by 'The Invisible Girl,' 'The Evil Eye' and 'The False Rhyme.' Available in soft cover and hard cover with dust jacket. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket for collectors.