Frankenstein Annotated Bibliography

Bigland, Eileen. Mary Shelley. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc.

This book is a biography of Mary Shelley's life. It tells all about how her parents met, married, and conceived her. It tells of the death of Shelley's mother, and her father's second wife. This book also details her childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. It gives the background of her biological parents, and of her husband. It also describes the events surrounding her writing of Frankenstein.

Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Views: Mary Shelley. New York: Chelsea

This book was very useful in finding critical views about Mary Shelley and her work Frankenstein. The book is a compilation of views from several different experts that voice their opinions on various aspects of the novel. Some of the main points that are discussed are realism, language, the dual role of Frankenstein, and the godlike science used in the creation of the monster. The book also includes a chronology of Mary Shelley's life.

"1812." Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. 1997 ed. CD-ROM.

This source includes many different facts about 1812. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1812, so this source provides us with a historical context of the world when she wrote the classic. It includes many pictures, a timeline, sounds, video, text, and links to the internet. It is very easy to use and it has a large amount of information about all aspects of 1812.

"1800-1815." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1997 ed. CD-ROM.

This source is extremely helpful because it has an enormous amount of useful information. There are pictures, videos, sounds, and many important facts about the early 1800's. This CD-ROM was very easy to use because it has a search engine. This source is valuable because it contains information about the early 1800's. It was in the early 1800's that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. It provided us an excellent historical context of that time.

Johnson, Brian D. "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." Maclean's Nov. 1994: 112.

The title of this article is misleading. Itis actually a comparison of Interview With the Vampire and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. While Interview gets compliment after compliment, Frankenstein is repeatedly bashed and even called a "patchwork abomination."

Kaye, Elizabeth. "Alas, Poor Kenneth!" Esquire Jan. 1997: 74-80.

This article begins with minimal information on Kenneth Branagh's film version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Then it shifts into the making of another one of his movies, Hamlet. Although Frankenstein is not discussed passed the first page, it does offer some interesting information on how Branagh goes about making his films.

Magill, Frank N. Cyclopedia of World Authors. Vol 3. New Jersey: Salem

This article gives basic information on the life of Mary Shelley and on her background. It relates her life experiences to those portrayed in Frankenstein. The rest of the information in the source is purely biographical.

Magill, Frank N. Masterplots. Vol 4. New Jersey: Salem Press, 1976.

This chapter was pulled out of a volume of Masterplots. As with all Masterplot entries, the first part classifies the novel, the second part offers a brief overview of the plot, a third part highlights characters, and the last part offers of critical review. (The CD version also includes a link to biographical information.) This source is a good place to start, but it lacks depth.

Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters. New

This book contains a chronology, which begins with Shelley's parents' marriage and ends with Shelley's death and burial. It tells of her childhood and her romance with Percy Shelley. It also tells about Frankenstein, and the changes that Percy made to it. Shelley's later works are also discuessed.

Patterson, Arthur Paul. "A Frankenstein Study". Online. Lycos. Available at

This site is very useful in that it gives a lot of information about different views on Frankenstein. It offers opinions on the conflict of human nature, and concentrates on the humanity of the monster and the monstrosity of its creator. It gives a lot of ideas that make one think about the hidden meanings in the novel.

Rike, Jennifer L. "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." The Christian Century Feb.

This is a critique of Kenneth Brannagh's film version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This is the most recent Frankenstein film made and also the film that most closely adheres to the original plot intended by Shelley. This article asserts that even though this movie was more like the book than others have been, it still lacks certain points presented in the book.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.

Frankenstein is the story of scientist and his monster, and how the monster destroys his creator's life.

Skold, Kristen. "A Regency Repository". Online. Available at

This page has information on the arts, literature, fashion, personalities, inventions, learning, domestic arts, and military and political events during 1810-1820. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein during this time, and was effected by all of these categories. It also offers many links to other pages with similar information on this time period.

Spark, Muriel. Mary Shelley. New York: E. P. Dutton. 1987.

This book contains two parts. The first is a biography of Mary Shelley which begins before she was born. It gives background information on her parent's activities prior to her birth. The second part is a critical study of Frankenstein and several of her other works. This book also inlcudes a selected biliography.

Sunstein, Emily W. Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality. Boston: Little, Brown

This biography includes information on Shelley's childhood, her romance with Percy Shelley, her nature, and what went on years after her burial. It also includes a list of works written by her, and her family members

"The Complete Oscars, 1927 - Today." IMDb Title Search.1998.

This is a listing of every recorded Frankenstein movie ever made. It provides information on when each movie was made, who directed it, who produced it, a list of this characters and that actors that portrayed them, and a short summary.

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