
Frankenstein: The Original 1818 Text
Reader's Library Classics
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $3.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Joseph Kent
-
By:
-
Mary Shelley
About this listen
Frankenstein: The Original 1818 Text by Mary Shelley is a timeless gothic novel that explores the dangers of unchecked ambition and the ethical dilemmas of scientific advancement.
First published in 1818, this groundbreaking work tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but reckless scientist who creates a sentient creature in his quest to conquer death. However, his experiment spirals into tragedy as the creature, abandoned and misunderstood, seeks both revenge and companionship.
Shelley's novel delves into themes of isolation, responsibility, and the consequences of playing god, making it a cornerstone of both horror and science fiction literature. This edition preserves the original text, offering listeners an unfiltered experience of Shelley’s haunting masterpiece.
Public Domain (P)2025 Quill PublishingPeople who viewed this also viewed...
-
Frankenstein
- Penguin Classics
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Colin Salmon, Peter Noble - introduction
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A terrifying vision of scientific progress without moral limits, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein leads the listener on an unsettling journey from the sublime beauty of the Swiss alps to the desolate waste of the arctic circle. Obsessed with the idea of creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material with which to fashion a new being, shocking his creation to life with electricity. But this botched creature, rejected by its creator and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy Frankenstein and all that he holds dear.
-
-
Absolutely loved this book!
- By Landon on 11-15-19
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein (The Original 1818 Unabridged and Complete Edition)
- A Mary Shelley Classics
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Joseph Kent
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published in 1818, this groundbreaking work tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but reckless scientist who creates a sentient creature in his quest to conquer death. However, his experiment spirals into tragedy as the creature, abandoned and misunderstood, seeks both revenge and companionship. Shelley's novel delves into themes of isolation, responsibility, and the consequences of playing god, making it a cornerstone of both horror and science fiction literature.
-
-
Disappointing narration
- By Mary Daniels on 05-02-25
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Narrator Dan Stevens ( Downton Abbey) presents an uncanny performance of Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel, an epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.
-
-
ARE WE ALWAYS TO BE UNHAPPY?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 01-28-16
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- The Modern Prometheus
- By: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
- Narrated by: Jim Donaldson
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frankenstein is infused with some elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement and is also considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. Includes introduction and commentary by Mary Shelley. Required reading for any fan of science fiction and horror genres. A classic.
-
-
A Monster of Fiction
- By Darwin8u on 05-21-12
-
Frankenstein (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Nico Evers-Swindell
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Obsessed with the secret of creation, Swiss scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein cobbles together a body he's determined to bring to life. And one fateful night, he does. When the creature opens his eyes, the doctor is repulsed: his vision of perfection is, in fact, a hideous monster. Dr. Frankenstein abandons his creation, but the monster won't be ignored, setting in motion a chain of violence and terror that shadows Victor to his death.
-
-
1818 Version
- By EKJ on 02-02-19
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- Updated 1831 Edition
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although the story of Frankenstein is well known and commonly referenced, experiencing the original novel is well worth the endeavor and illuminates the true depth and complexity that is often missed in modern references. A tale not just of monsters and dark shadows, but of hubris, romance, regret, loss, adventure, morality, isolation, and much more.
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- Penguin Classics
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Colin Salmon, Peter Noble - introduction
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A terrifying vision of scientific progress without moral limits, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein leads the listener on an unsettling journey from the sublime beauty of the Swiss alps to the desolate waste of the arctic circle. Obsessed with the idea of creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material with which to fashion a new being, shocking his creation to life with electricity. But this botched creature, rejected by its creator and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy Frankenstein and all that he holds dear.
-
-
Absolutely loved this book!
- By Landon on 11-15-19
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein (The Original 1818 Unabridged and Complete Edition)
- A Mary Shelley Classics
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Joseph Kent
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published in 1818, this groundbreaking work tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but reckless scientist who creates a sentient creature in his quest to conquer death. However, his experiment spirals into tragedy as the creature, abandoned and misunderstood, seeks both revenge and companionship. Shelley's novel delves into themes of isolation, responsibility, and the consequences of playing god, making it a cornerstone of both horror and science fiction literature.
-
-
Disappointing narration
- By Mary Daniels on 05-02-25
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Narrator Dan Stevens ( Downton Abbey) presents an uncanny performance of Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel, an epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.
-
-
ARE WE ALWAYS TO BE UNHAPPY?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 01-28-16
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- The Modern Prometheus
- By: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
- Narrated by: Jim Donaldson
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frankenstein is infused with some elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement and is also considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. Includes introduction and commentary by Mary Shelley. Required reading for any fan of science fiction and horror genres. A classic.
-
-
A Monster of Fiction
- By Darwin8u on 05-21-12
-
Frankenstein (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Nico Evers-Swindell
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Obsessed with the secret of creation, Swiss scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein cobbles together a body he's determined to bring to life. And one fateful night, he does. When the creature opens his eyes, the doctor is repulsed: his vision of perfection is, in fact, a hideous monster. Dr. Frankenstein abandons his creation, but the monster won't be ignored, setting in motion a chain of violence and terror that shadows Victor to his death.
-
-
1818 Version
- By EKJ on 02-02-19
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- Updated 1831 Edition
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although the story of Frankenstein is well known and commonly referenced, experiencing the original novel is well worth the endeavor and illuminates the true depth and complexity that is often missed in modern references. A tale not just of monsters and dark shadows, but of hubris, romance, regret, loss, adventure, morality, isolation, and much more.
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tale of Dr. Frankenstein and the horrendous monster he unleashes on the world when he tinkers with the laws of nature had almost as strange a birth as the monster itself. It was the product of one of the most famous ghost story telling sessions in history. Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and several others were stranded on the shores of Lake Geneva during a particularly sodden summer.
-
-
A Great Performance for a very Boring Story
- By Brian Zohner on 12-29-15
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Jamie Bell
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris and horror.
-
-
Classic with Great Narration
- By Amazon Customer on 09-12-23
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus
- By: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering "the cause of generation and life" and "bestowing animation upon lifeless matter", Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts. However, upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness.
-
-
Great reading
- By Tad Davis on 09-03-08
-
Frankenstein
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Wolfgang Schrader
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, published in 1818, is a landmark Gothic novel that explores themes of ambition, creation, responsibility, and the consequences of playing God. Victor Frankenstein, a young man from Geneva, grows up in a loving and supportive family. He is deeply interested in science and becomes obsessed with understanding the secrets of life. After studying at the University of Ingolstadt, Victor discovers the method for creating life and becomes consumed with the idea of building a living being.
By: Mary Shelley
-
Frankenstein
- The Modern Prometheus
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Mark Nelson
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the rainy summer of 1816, the "Year Without a Summer", the world was locked in a long cold volcanic winter caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. Mary Shelley, aged 18, and her lover (and later husband) Percy Bysshe Shelley, visited Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The weather was consistently too cold and dreary that summer to enjoy the outdoor holiday activities they had planned, so the group retired indoors until dawn.
-
-
A must read/listen
- By R. Daly on 11-13-23
By: Mary Shelley
-
Dracula [Audible Edition]
- By: Bram Stoker
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.
-
-
IS THAT NOT SO?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-05-15
By: Bram Stoker
If you are an avid reader, you have no doubt heard the tale of how #maryshelley came up with the #frankenstein novel as part of lazy rainy day challenge of young adult travelling friends prompted to write ghost stories by #lordbyron and the author's husband #percybyssheshelley . While not fully formed, the challenge coincided with recurring dreams of her dead mother, 19th Century feminist author and philosoher #marywolstonecraft who died shortly after giving birth to young Mary. These dreams of reanimation combined with the popular fad of attending medical lectures where experiments on corpses were carried out, circulated in the active mind in young Mary who later suffered the loss of a prematurely birthed daughter of she and Percy while writing Frankenstein.
This original 1818 text, while hightoned and certainly written for an extremely literate audience was told through a series of narrations telling the story of a well heeled but self taught Victor Frankenstein heading off to medical school with ample reading of Greek and Roman classics but little practical knowledge for one wishing a scientific career. His extracurricular studies in his isolated rooming house loft gave him the privacy to experiment on a corpse that somehow came to life. Rather than dealing with it or taking responsibility for his creation, Frankenstein attempts to disavow it's existence which, rather than making the problem go away, only gets worse.
The novel became a massive hit both in the written form and through numerous stage and.long after her death, screen adaptations that etched the blueprint for horror stories. Because of its influence, it was extensively studied for deeper political and religious meaning which was likewise touched on in the afterward of the novel. Whatever it's influence and deeper meaning, Frankenstein has been indelibly etched in Western Culture and demonstrates the unrestrained ingenuity of a mind encouraged to think how one wishes rather than to be constrained by convention, even if it leaves you comparatively penniless in the process.
Inventing the modern horror novel as only women could
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.