Welcome to The Big Read: Frankenstein!
The first time I read Frankenstein was back in 2013. At the time, we lived in an old house in Denver with a slot by the front door where the mail would drop to the floor when it was delivered. While reading a particularly intense scene on a dark February evening, I heard that flutter of mail go through the slot and drop with a heavy, dull thud on the hardwood floor. I jumped and yelped in a way that would have been very embarrassing had anyone been around.
I was a bit surprised that a 200-year-old book could make my heart pound like that. This isn’t the dry, outdated narrative that I often run into in the realm of classic novels.
But Frankenstein goes well beyond just entertainment by swimming into deep philosophical waters about science, ambition, loneliness, belonging, and what it means to be human. It’s a story with unexpected depth and meaning.
For the next four weeks, we’ll dive into all things Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, and I couldn’t be more excited!
What to Expect
My intent with all these recaps, which will hit your inbox on Saturday mornings, is to give enough background and context for you to have a richer understanding of the story and its meaning. I’m not a scholar; I’m a reader, just like you. This book club is not about completism or scholarship, but simply about going deeper than you otherwise would and uncovering what this book means to you — to us — on a personal level.
For Week 1, I have some important background on Mary Wollstonecraft (Shelley’s mother) and Mary Shelley, as well as a detailed look at what happened on the famous night that Frankenstein was born.
Don’t forget: the reading for next week includes the author’s intro/preface, the four “letters” at the start of the book, and through Chapter IV or V, depending on your version of the book. More info here about the reading schedule if you don’t remember seeing it before.
Mary Wollstonecraft
“The memory of my mother has always been the pride and delight of my life.” —Mary Shelley, in 1827
All of Mary Shelley’s writing — including Frankenstein — is inspired by and infused with her mother’s influence and philosophy. If we ignore that impact, we risk missing Frankenstein’s depth. So let’s learn a little more about her.
Mary Wollstonecraft lived an incredible, long-overlooked, too-short life. She was blessed with a creative, inquisitive, and independent mind and spirit — unfortunately, that was a bit of a curse in her own time.