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Frankenstein: A Cultural History
Frankenstein began as the nightmare of an unwed teenage mother in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1816. At a time when the moral universe was shifting and advances in scientific knowledge promised humans dominion over that which had been God's alone, Mary Shelley envisioned a story of human presumption and its misbegotten consequences. Two centuries later, that story is still cons...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
October 17th 2007
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published October 9th 2007)
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This is a well written, well researched, and very interesting tale of the origins of the Frankenstein story that Mary Shelley wrote in 1816, published in 1818, and revised in 1831, and how the concept has evolved through the past two centuries into a worldwide cultural touchstone, instantly familiar to all and used for a variety of purposes, from humorous and horrorific entertainment to a constant gag in political cartoons and speeches to a metaphor for the debate about the limits of scientific...more
This is a well-written and fairly comprehensive survey of the enduring cultural resonance of the Frankenstein story. What surprised me was how quickly Mary Shelley's original story (1818) was adapted (and highly distorted) for the stage. A stage version had even reached America by 1825!
It's no surprise, of course, that the famous Universal Pictures version from 1931 shares more in common with the various stage versions than it does with the novel. In the novel, the Monster moves like the wind; h...more
It's no surprise, of course, that the famous Universal Pictures version from 1931 shares more in common with the various stage versions than it does with the novel. In the novel, the Monster moves like the wind; h...more
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A very interesting account of the beginnings of the story of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's creation. It is important to separate the two as it is the creation that has captured the imagination whether in book form or other visuals as opposed to the scientist that created the being. Indeed as the author points out the creation has taken on both myth and legendary porportions to a very extrodinary manner over three centuries. The creation as gone through more identity changes than possibly anythin...more
That great shambling, lovable monster we call Frankenstein is arguably the most potent, recognizable literary figure to stalk the past two centuries and will no doubt leave its asphalt-spreader boot imprints on the current century. Clomping through the pages of literature, film and pop culture, the neck-bolted creature casts a shadow unmatched by others.
All of it born from the imagination of a girl barely out of her teens, fleeing across Europe with her poet husband, flouting convention and trad...more
All of it born from the imagination of a girl barely out of her teens, fleeing across Europe with her poet husband, flouting convention and trad...more
"Leftover" Halloween reading... a really interesting and entertaining survey of why and how Mary Shelley's monster still has such a grip on our imagination. One of the most interesting things I learned was that the novel didn't gain acceptance as a "classic" worthy of serious study until the early 1970s... and I was reading it as required reading in tenth grade English just over a decade later! It's also inspired me to finally get around to watching the rest of the Universal Frankenstein films (...more
A fascinating history of the Fraknestein genesis and the story's ongoing presence in literary, film and general culture. Beginning with the writing of the story and the circumstances surrounding that to the first films and the ongoing adaptation of the name to fit different circumstances, the influence of the name "Frankenstein" is examined. Never overwhelmingly academic in style but clearly thoroughly researched, this is definitely a good read. (And in the fun fact area....the first parody of F...more
What can I say? The modern Prometheus is now the modern myth-- the fabric of Western culture, stitched into modern consciousness where it sees a fit. Frankenstein: A Cultural History is a balanced and well-researched survey of how Mary W. Shelley's novel climbed into our modern consciousness and continues to speak. This is the first of several books that I'm reading for teaching a unit on Frankenstein. So far, it is the most useful. I highly recommend this book for exploring the cultural signifi...more
Nov 30, 2008
Kristie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Frankenstein fans, feminists, folklore enthusiasts
Shelves:
from-the-library
The cover of the hardcover edition of this book is deceptive. The bright colors and variety of pictures led me to believe it would be a fairly lightweight pop-culture love-fest with lots of pictures.
It's not. It's a thoughtful, well-researched and quite scholarly history of the Frankenstein myth, from its origins during a summertime thunderstorm through the various stage and film adaptations, to its contemporary political and cultural meanings. Frankenstein is one of my very favorite books (the...more
It's not. It's a thoughtful, well-researched and quite scholarly history of the Frankenstein myth, from its origins during a summertime thunderstorm through the various stage and film adaptations, to its contemporary political and cultural meanings. Frankenstein is one of my very favorite books (the...more
I loved reading this. I started reading just before Halloween, but to give an example of the range of subject matter, here is a quotation that author Susan Hitchcock includes, from a book published in October 1931 by I. Maurice Wormser:
"...the modern Prometheus, who artifically created a vitalized monster which became the terror of 'all living things' and threatened the security and well-being of mankind. The fable is not without its application to the corporate business organization of to-day....more
"...the modern Prometheus, who artifically created a vitalized monster which became the terror of 'all living things' and threatened the security and well-being of mankind. The fable is not without its application to the corporate business organization of to-day....more
The historical background to Shelley's life and inspiration were really interesting, as were some of the explorations of how the monster transformed from a threat to something comfortable and back to horrible, but too much of the book was just describing different movies or political cartoons. I missed the deeper analysis that I was looking for; it was brushed on, but not explored. Overall, it gave me some good fodder for background and discussion, but it wasn't stellar.
The chapters about the conception of the story, Mary Shelley's life and early reception of the book are really fascinating, as are the chapters about the early films depicting the changed story of Frankenstein. I felt that the book fell off at the end though, or maybe I just wasn't as interested in the barely-related stories of political references to Frankenstein or cloning. All in all, a very fascinating read.
"She dared to approach the forbidden, ignoring conventional laws of good and evil; sh...more
"She dared to approach the forbidden, ignoring conventional laws of good and evil; sh...more
"Frankenstein: A Cultural History," delivers exactly what it promises — no more, no less. Very little of this book was new to me, though there were a few things here and there that I was not previously aware of. But while readers familiar with "Frankenstein" may not find a lot of new insights here, this is a pretty solid book for neophytes. The cover is awesome.
Although there wasn't as much here on my paper topic that I wanted, the book was still fascinating! I loved seeing how the Frankenstein story has evolved over the years with pop culture today.
I bought this book as soon as I saw a review of it in the LATimes because I teach the novel. Lots of interesting info about Mary and Percy's lives, not too much more than I already knew but with a clearer timeline. What's different is that this traces the history of the creature's portrayal through plays and films. I didn't know about the 15 minute Edison kinetescope version; after reading about it here, I searched online to find a dvd of that first 15-minute film of the novel, made in 1910 -- V...more
Frankenstein: A Cultural History works.
An enjoyable read If you are interested in the legend of Frankenstein and 20th century pop culture.
An enjoyable read If you are interested in the legend of Frankenstein and 20th century pop culture.
I became acquainted with Frankenstein and his creature through the local Saturday night Spooktacular as my cousins and I would turn off the lights and dare each other not to scream. I was intrigued to read the original at a relatively young age, 12 or so, and enjoyed the book immensely. Revisited several times in my adult years, Frankenstein has remained a favorite. Thus I especially enjoyed Hitchcock's thoroughly researched and wide-ranging volume.
I only wish she had more than 325 pages in which to work.
I got a little bogged down in the final chapters that only seemed tangentally related to the fictional Frankenstein, but overall this was a nice overview of the creation and life of Mary Shelly's story.
This was an interesting walk through the "cultural history" of Frankenstein. Since I haven't ready Mary Shelly's original nor seen any of the movies, this was a good introduction, and I'll be sure to add Frankensein to my "To Read" list. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't more of a literary critism book, but I suppose the title should have warned me. I think the first third was on the author and the novel, but the rest on plays, movies, comics, and other cultural references.
I agree with other reviewers who've said that the cover is deceptive. This book is a bit more "scholarly" in its examination of the pervasive nature of the Frankenstein story/myth/legend since its publication in 1817. I kind of lost interest when it got to the human cloning section, and I frowned when I saw a few glaring and obvious errors in Hitchcock's discussion of the Universal Frankenstein movies (Lionel Atwill was NOT in Bride of Frankenstein, for example).
To me, Frankenstein's monster is the ultimate outsider. Made by man, shunned by mankind. There is no place in this world for him to exist. But the myth of the monster remains ambiguous (to say the least). The big guy can be scary or funny, depending on the situation. Author Susan Tyler Hitchcock does a pretty good job of explaining the appeal of Mary Shelley's famous creature. Recommended for all Frankenstein freaks. You know who you are.
This book was a surprisingly delightful read. I now know more about Frankenstein than I ever needed to know. It is thorough and insightful, from the beginnings of Dr. Frankenstein's monster to our continued preoccupation with the story. Big plusses go to the images in the book, from movie posters to political cartoons. A great book on a topic I never knew I wanted to learn more about.
Four stars for the first half, (maybe) only two for the second. The bits on Mary Shelley and the origins of the book were well presented, particularly the way in which Shelley's biography informed her writing. I was really interested in the ways in which the story and the character spread throughout popular culture, and while there's a lot of it here it doesn't always pop.
I rather enjoyed this cultural history of The Monster. It is the kind of book that I would probably write, if it weren't already written. I only wish Hitchcock was a little more analytical. This seemed more like a survey class book than a real cultural studies type book. However, it is quite fun and well research. I can never get enough of The Monster it seems
Mary Shelley was an unwed teenage mother when she wrote FRANKENSTEIN. Or, she was going to be. She was pregnant and she had run away to Italy with Percy Shelley and his tubercular friends. One of many fun facts that awaits you in the cultural history of a favorite monster that I fear will grown obscure in the recent rash of vampire fanaticism.
A detailed overview of the life of Mary Shelley and her Frankenstein novel. An overview, nonetheless, which quickly moves through a cultural history of the monster. All aspects are briefly dispatched with little exposition or explanation. Occasionally insightful and almost always fun, tho, for any fan.
Interesting topic, but I couldn't get past the author's seemingly self-indulgent prose; I only got through about half of the book.
I found this book on the New Releases shelf of the public library after I'd finished a semester project of compiling from scratch about the same research as this lady. Good, fast cultural knowledge read.
Only got 3 stars because it starts out good, and then gets repetitive and boring. Hard to finish the book, but I preservered. I did learn a bit that I hadn't known before, and I definitly don't regret reading it.
Fairly interesting book, not as critical as I thought. This book becomes almost like a compilation of Frankenstein manifestations and adaptations. Interesting but becomes a bit repetitive.
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Susan Tyler Hitchcock has written 13 books, including Frankenstein: A Cultural History, Mad Mary Lamb, and Coming About: A Family Passage at Sea. She has degrees in English from the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia. She works as a book editor for the National Geographic Society. She has been collecting Frankensteiniana for more than 20 years. She and her husband live in the ho...more
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