Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the world's most notorious and widely read Gothic novel. It has also been heralded as both the first modern horror novel and the first science fiction novel. More important than either is the novel's mythical status in society. The rich subtext of Frankenstein and the vast number of readings it can inspire have contributed to the novel's continued success after nearly two hundred years. This edition of Frankenstein uses Mary Shelley's definitive 1831 text and incorporates several critical essays on Frankenstein, discussing its rich symbolism and place in world literature. There is also a valuable bibliography, Mary Shelley's original introduction to the 1831 edition, Percy Shelley's original preface, and more. This is the definitive edition of Frankenstein, perfect for the trade and indispensable for scholarly use. This is first in the affordably priced Millipede Press Gothic Novels series. Mary Shelley was born in London in 1797. Her mother was the polemicist Mary Wollstonecraft, her father the radical philosopher and novelist William Godwin. At age nineteen, she wrote Frankenstein (published in 1818), which was edited and guided by her husband, Percy Shelley. She is also well known for her apocalyptic novel, The Last Man (1826). She died in 1851. Patrick McGrath was born in London. He is the author of Blood and Water and Other Tales, The Grotesque, Spider, Asylum, and other novels. He lives in New York City and London.