(EDITOR'S NOTE: Our charming Creature Frankie is clocking in today with this special post to celebrate the publishing of Mary Shelley's classic novel. Click our title link above and visit the Bakken Library's cool 'n creepy Frankenstein exhibit. --J.R.)Hello, everybody! Today is the official birthday of Frankenstein--not just a Creature like myself, but the whole idea. The classic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was published on this day in 1818, and it's still going strong 189 years later.
During the year 1816, a teenaged Mary Shelley and her husband-to-be, Percy Bysshe Shelley, visited Lord Byron in Switzerland. While they were visiting, Byron challenged the Shelleys and his personal physician John William Polidori to each write a horror story. While Byron wrote a bit about vampires**and Polidori managed to write a short story called The Vampyre, Mary turned out a full-blown novel about a scientist who creates a monster in an attempt to learn the secret of creating life. This novel went on to be one of the most well-known books in the world, birthing stage plays and movie adaptations of the story, as well as creating an immortal character in pop culture. Not bad for a young girl like me! (Well, maybe not quite like me, since I'm a Creature, but you get the idea.)
We proudly salute Mary Shelley and recognize her as one of the original MonsterGrrls, and wish her creation a monstrously happy birthday!
Sincerely,
Frankie Franken
**Bethany footnotes: "Hmmph. Not surprised at all, really. I knew Lord Byron briefly, and with all the carousing and drinking it's a wonder he managed to stay upright long enough to write anything."
