Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, Contexts, Criticism

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, Contexts, Criticism presents Mary Shelley's novel in its first-edition form and surrounds it with material designed for close study. J. Paul Hunter introduces and annotates the 1818 text, giving readers guidance without replacing the novel's own language. Three maps and eight illustrations add visual and geographical reference points to the volume.

The contextual section groups documents around sources, influences and analogues; the circumstances of composition and revision; and the book's reception, impact and adaptation. This arrangement lets readers move between Shelley's text and the literary or historical conversations attached to it. Eleven critical essays address major themes in Frankenstein, with six essays new to this third edition, so the book also records different approaches to interpreting the novel.

A chronology and selected bibliography extend the edition beyond a single reading. The Norton format combines annotated primary text, contextual evidence and criticism in one volume, making the distinctions between those layers visible. It is therefore both an edition of Frankenstein and a structured set of resources for analyzing how the novel was created, received and repeatedly reconsidered.