{"product_id":"the-real-frankenstein-laura-silverman-9781036126636","title":"The Real Frankenstein: How Tragedy and Science Shaped Mary Shelley's Classic Novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrankenstein emerges as a kaleidoscopic novel of ideas shaped by Mary Shelley's life, science, and philosophy.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne dark and stormy night in 1816, Mary Shelley started the story that was to become the first science-fiction novel, Frankenstein. She was on holiday in Geneva and Lord Byron, a poet with rock-star status, had challenged his friends to write a ghost story. But there's more to it than that. How did a teenager come up with a literary classic? The Real Frankenstein explores Mary Shelley's influences. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst, it looks at love and loss in Mary's life, including the death of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, and her rocky relationship with Percy Shelley. It then highlights the pioneering scientists of Mary's day, from Luigi Galvani, an Italian physicist who made frogs' legs dance using electricity, to Sir Humphry Davy, whose lectures bear remarkable similarities with parts of Mary's book. Finally, it examines some of the philosophical and political theories at the time. It makes space for John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, slavery and early theories of race.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis kaleidoscopic approach aimed at the general reader shows Frankenstein in all its richness. Far from being a simple ghost story written on a dark and stormy night, the novel is full of ideas that get to the heart of Mary Shelley herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Laura Silverman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1036126633\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781036126636\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e White Owl\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/03\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Laura Silverman","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48874582606079,"sku":"9781036126636","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-real-frankenstein-laura-silverman-9781036126636","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}