Frankenstein

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was just eighteen years old. Simultaneously a gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the origin of life and succeeding in animating inert 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. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against its creator, Frankenstein.
An instant bestseller and an important ancestor of horror and science fiction, Frankenstein not only tells a terrifying story but also raises profound and disturbing questions about the very nature of life and humanity's place in the cosmos: what does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in manipulating nature? In our era, filled with news of genetic engineering, organ donation, and bioterrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever.