Frankenstein

Few terrifying creatures have ignited the reader's imagination as much as the infamous monster from the famous Gothic novel Frankenstein by the English writer Mary Shelley. The story of the horrific consequences of the irresponsible experiments of the young Genevan scientist Victor Frankenstein, which has fascinated readers for over two centuries, asks a fundamental question: what can happen when a person, overcome by obsession, pride, and a belief in their own genius and infallibility, decides to play God?

The famous novel, an irreplaceable early example of science fiction prose, arose from a momentary whim of Lord Byron:

"We will each write a ghost story," he declared one evening in the company of his then-neighbours Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and her then-lover Percy B. Shelley. His proposal was met with agreement.

Neither of the renowned poets finished their story, but Mary took the challenge seriously and succeeded in her self-imposed task completely: she created a story that plays on natural human fears and awakens terror and horror within us – a story that makes the reader's heart pound wildly and their blood run cold.