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WEDNESDAY MARCH 28 2007 10:00 AM

Who Wrote Frankenstein?

Submitted by PointBlank

Edited by Rahodeb

Tags: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, Fraud, Literature

Fittingly, the story behind the creation of the novel Frankenstein is almost as famous as that of the monster itself.

Mary Shelley, only nineteen at the time, spent the cold summer of 1816 with her future husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley; Lord Byron; and Byrons doctor, John William Polidori. Due to the subnormal temperatures, the group was forced to stay indoors where they entertained each other by reading from a book of German ghost stories. When Lord Byron challenged the group to write their own stories, Mary Shelley came up with the first spark that would become the classic Frankenstein. Remarkably, Polidori was also inspired by Byron that night and later wrote what is considered to be the first modern vampire story, The Vampyre . Two horror greats were born that night. It don't get any more goth than that, people.

Now, however, one scholar is claiming that the story might not be true, at least when it comes to Mary Shelley and her monster. How did a marginally-educated nineteen-year old come up with what is now thought of as one of the first science-fiction novels, and why didn't she ever write anything of merit again? Perhaps she wasnt the author at all, according to John Lauritsen, who claims that Percy Bysshe Shelley actually wrote the novel.

Lauritsen, a Harvard-educated "independent scholar" who has spent seven years in its libraries comparing the texts of Shelley's great works such as Ozymandias with his wife's subsequent books, says Frankenstein was too profound to have been created by an "ill-educated 19-year-old whose later writings were just ordinary".

He says some of the language, with lines such as "I will glut the maw of death", were pure Shelley, and that the young aristocrat wrote a handful of fashionable horror tales that echo the later tone of Frankenstein. Lauritsen said Shelley had many reasons to disguise his authorship, including hints of "free love" that had already driven him out of England and an undertone of "Romantic, but I would not say gay, male love".

Lauritsen also points out that the first edition of Frankenstein was published with no author credited and was roundly panned by the critics of the time. Obviously, a book like this is going to cause some controversy, but at least one critic, Camille Paglia, writing in Salon sees the novel as not only an important investigation, but a shot fired across the bow of academia as well.

Lauritsen's book is important not only for its audacious theme but for the devastating portrait it draws of the insularity and turgidity of the current academy. As an independent scholar, Lauritsen is beholden to no one. As a consequence, he can fight openly with myopic professors and, without fear of retribution, condemn them for their inability to read and reason.

Will a village of angry scholars armed with pitchforks and torches be coming for Lauritsen when his book, The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein comes out next month? Only time will tell.

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Comments

AndersWolleck

Astoria, NY

February 2003

MAR 28, 2007 01:02 PM

baudot said:
Regardless of who wrote it, it's an excellent book.

I disagree. Your comment brings to mind all the comedians who get jokes stolen from them [ie "Hey its a good joke, who cares who came up with it?"

If something isnt set in stone then it should be treated as such

Shal

Los Angeles, CA

October 2002

MAR 28, 2007 01:08 PM

yourfashionwar said:
i've always been amazed at hearing how all these great authors and composers come up with such brilliant stuff at an age when i (and most of my peers) were primarily concerned with partying all the time.

mozart penned his first symphony at what, ten? carson mccullers wrote the heart is a lonely hunter at 23.

when i was 19, aside from being pretty darn good at theoretical math, i played keyboard in a terrible attempt at a new-wave band and decoupaged (so not a verb) picture frames.

how do these people exist?

Perhaps they achieved greatness because they were geniuses who were capable of singular greatness, instead of just being "pretty darn good" at something.

trocc

Chicago, IL

March 2003

MAR 28, 2007 01:10 PM

Smuffy said:

Cassiel said:
Ken Russell make a really great film about that night in Byron's castle, and the supernatural incidents that it entails: Gothic, with Natasha Richardson as Mary Shelley, Julian Sands as Percy Shelley, Gabriel Byrne as Lord Byron, and Timothy Spall as Polidori. Really eerie, disturbing flick--highly recommended.

I'm adding this to my netflix immediately!

it's a goth-kid classic, yo. it was on all the time in the background of my shifty teenage years. but unfortunately, i don't think it's currently available on DVD.

Margot_Dent

Los Angeles, CA

February 2004

MAR 28, 2007 01:13 PM

AndersWolleck said:

baudot said:
Regardless of who wrote it, it's an excellent book.

what the fuck are you talking about?

Cassiel

Aurora, CO

September 2004

MAR 28, 2007 01:20 PM

trocc said:

Smuffy said:

I'm adding this to my netflix immediately!

it's a goth-kid classic, yo. it was on all the time in the background of my shifty teenage years. but unfortunately, i don't think it's currently available on DVD.

i think i've got it on VHS, taped off cable from many years ago

mamet

Charleston, SC

March 2005

MAR 28, 2007 01:24 PM

mr_gosh said:

grave_chilling said:
but it's unlikely that he would be the author. Frankenstein is a feminist tale, and while Percy was ahead of his time, he was still a man.

I guess you're not familiar with Ibsin's "A Dolls House"?

Though Ibsen didn't intend for A Doll's House to be considered feminist. Not saying that changes the outcome; just sayin'.