title: The Annotated Frankenstein
author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
description: <i>The Annotated Frankenstein</i>should appeal to scholars familiar with the novel as well as those exploring it for the first time. The editors, Susan J. Wolfson and Ronald Levao, situate the novel in its philosophical, literary, biographical and historical contexts, and provide apt illustrations and useful appendices (including examinations of the revised edition of 1831 and a timeline which juxtaposes the novels episodes with concurrent historical events). Its expansive, cream-coloured pages and generous margins render the volume a world unto itself, while emphasizing the worldly issues Shelley addressed in her uncanny tale.<b><i></i></b><b>Michael Saler</b><b>, </b><b><i>Times Literary Supplement</i></b><br /><br />First published in 1818, very possibly the most famous debut novel in English, Mary Shelleys <i>Frankenstein: Or, The New Prometheus</i> has never been out of print. Far fewer people have read this somewhat difficult and didactic novel than know, or think that they know, who Frankenstein was; long ago, the grotesque figure of Dr. Frankensteins Monster became detached from its literary context, as from its creator. Highly recommended is <i>The Annotated Frankenstein</i>, edited by Susan J. Wolfson and Ronald Levao, who seem to know, between them, all that there is to know about Frankenstein, including his myriad cinematic metamorphoses over the decades.<b><i></i></b><b>Joyce Carol Oates</b><b>, </b><b><i>Globe and Mail</i></b><br /><br /><i>The Annotated Frankenstein</i>, edited by Susan J. Wolfson and Ronald L. Levao, brings scholarship to life for the lay reader. This latest volume in the irresistible annotated series from Harvard University Press presents the 1818 edition on oversize, creamy-white pages divided into two columns. While the story runs down the inside columns, helpful commentary runs alongside. Every geographical, biographical and literary allusion is explained; themes are highlighted; and obscure words are defined. A hundred color illustrations sprinkled throughout reproduce manuscript pages, works of art, medical etchings, portraits of Shelley and her friends, and scenes from movie treatments of this deathless tale.<b><i></i></b><b>Ron Charles</b><b>, </b><b><i>Washington Post</i></b><br /><br /><i>The Annotated Frankenstein</i> is a well-chosen collection of parts animated by a knowledgeable introduction; beyond that, it is a comprehensive work of breadth, depth, and interest enriched by over one hundred high-quality images. It is a beautiful, amiable companion <i>The Annotated Frankenstein</i> achieves the editors ambitious goals It offers the pleasures of a gift book while also providing readers with the fruits of decades of scholarship. Images, texts, and annotations together form an edition that is reputable, accurate, and insightful but also something more. Readers can luxuriate in the rich contexts the editors present In beginning his story, Victor Frankenstein has insisted that intellectual pursuit provides continual food for discovery and wonder. The success of <i>The Annotated Frankenstein</i> is that it allows Mary Shelleys novel to do the same.<b><i></i></b><b>Meoghan Cronin</b><b>, </b><b><i>Essays in Criticism</i></b><br /><br />Mary Shelleys classic tale of the doctor who awakened a monster gets an expanded treatment in the edition edited by Wolfson and Levao. This new treatment includes notes on Shelleys life and highlights literary allusions within the book.<b><i></i></b><b>Molly Driscoll</b><b>, </b><b><i>Christian Science Monitor</i></b><br /><br />First published in 1818, <i>Frankenstein, Or, the Modern Prometheus</i>, has fascinated, horrified, alarmed and even enchanted us ever since. In fact, as the editors of this usefully and delightfully annotated and illustrated edition make clear, almost as soon as the book was published, the word Frankenstein (so often wrongfully ascribed to the monster and not his creator) became synonymous with anything new, especially disturbing developments in science and technology. This edition will improve greatly ones understanding of the books provenance and its era.<b><i></i></b><b><i>Globe and Mail</i></b><br /><br />This is a serious work of interpretation. Wolfson and Levao offer the most extensively annotated edition of Mary Shelleys <i>Frankenstein</i> in print, a book that serves the educated but nonspecialist reader.<b><i></i></b><b>J. T. Lynch</b><b>, </b><b><i>Choice</i></b><br /><br />This new edition of Shelleys nearly 200-year-old novel is replete with supplementsexplanatory notes, scholarly introductions, and other special featuresthat enhance the text itself. Wolfson and Levao provide useful information on the authors milieu, including details about her parents, friends, and husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, focusing on the latters contributions to the novels birth and development.<b><i></i></b><b>Morris Hounion</b><b>, </b><b><i>Library Journal</i></b><br /><br />An impressive addition to the study of Frankenstein. While ideal for students of English, this book is accessible enough for anyone desiring a deeper reading of the novel, and does just what a well-annotated work should do, shedding a bright light not only on the text in question, but also on its historical moment and literary forebears.<b><i></i></b><b><i>Publishers Weekly (starred review)</i></b><br /><br />Wolfson and Levao revivify the original 1818 version of Shelleys classic in this illuminating annotated text. Beginning with a thoroughly researched introduction to the authors life and the life of Frankenstein, Wolfson and Levao draw parallels between the novels themes and the losses and turmoil that plagued Shelley. Moving along, their commentary draws from an abundance of criticism, focusing primarily on the novels allusions to <i>Paradise Lost</i>, Coleridges The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and the myth of Prometheus. At a more local level, the duo dutifully notate Shelleys ingenious use of language and her husbands edits. This book is accessible enough for anyone desiring a deeper reading of the novel, and does just what a well-annotated work should do, shedding a bright light not only on the text in question, but also on its historical moment and literary forebears.<b><i></i></b><b>Gabe Habash</b><b>, </b><b><i>Publishers Weekly</i></b>
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  ![cover](resources/_cover_.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  # Mathilda
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  
  
  This page formatted 2005 Munsey's.
  
  
  http://www.munseys.com
  
  PREFACE
  
  
  INTRODUCTION
  
  
  
  
  
  MATHILDA[1]
  
  
    
    
  CHAP. I
  
  
    
  CHAPTER II
  
  
    
  CHAPTER III
  
  
    
  CHAPTER IV
  
  
    
  CHAPTER V
  
  
    
  CHAPTER VI
  
  
    
  CHAPTER VII
  
  
    
  CHAPTER VIII
  
  
    
  CHAPTER IX
  
  
    
  CHAPTER X
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XI
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XII
  
  
    
  NOTES TO MATHILDA
  
  
  THE FIELDS OF FANCY[88]
  
  
    
  CHAP. 2
  
  
    
  NOTES TO THE FIELDS OF FANCY
  
  
  * * *
  
      
  
  Produced by David Starner, Cori Samuel and the Online Distributed
  
  
  Proofreading Team.
  
  
  
  
  
  MATHILDA
  
  
  By MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY
  
  
  Edited by ELIZABETH NITCHIE
  
  
  THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS CHAPEL HILL
  
  
  Mathilda _is being published in paper as Extra Series #3 of_
  
  
  Studies in Philology.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### PREFACE
  
  
  
  
  
    
  This volume prints for the first time the full text of Mary
  
  
  Shelley's novelette _Mathilda_ together with the opening pages of
  
  
  its rough draft,