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What is actually a macabre tale, unraveling theconsequences of a man’s reckless endeavor to create life from dead flesh, hasbecome one of the most familiar visages of the Halloween season: Frankensteinand his monster. The question of Frankenstein’sauthorship has been a source of literary speculation since the book was firstpublished in 1818. Could Mary Shelley, an unpublished 18-year old, have pennedsuch a profound, pioneering novel?
Charles E. Robinson, who has published andlectured extensively on the topic of English Romantic writers, presents twoversions of Mary’s prepublication manuscript: as she first wrote it and then asit was marked with her husband Percy Shelley’s editorial assistance. Robinson’sreader-friendly edition shows that collaboration was a hallmark of the literarycouple. He concludes that Percy contributed at least 4,000 words to the72,000-word novel. Despite the number of Percy’s additions and alterations,it’s obvious the story was conceived and mainly written by Mary Shelley. Bystripping away nearly two centuries of revision and amendment, Robinson’srevealing new edition allows readers to see for themselves Frankenstein’s true creation.
