Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Category: Adults, Classic, Horror, Literature
Language: English
Keywords: Danger Of Science Gothic Thriller Tragedy

Written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Read by Simon Vance
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
Release date: 03-12-08
Publisher: Tantor Audio

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein.

News Observer…
”This year (2018) marks the 200th birthday of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus,” I began celebrating by renting the audio from the library.

Over the years, there have been different audios of this book, but I can’t imagine a better one than Simon Vance’s recording (Tantor). Vance has narrated many classics. That makes sense given his rich, sonorous voice.

As the story opens, Vance’s deep, resonant voice captures the sadness and regret of Vincent Frankenstein, a near-frozen survivor rescued by Captain Walton in the North Pole. Frankenstein relates his tale as a warning to the scientifically-curious explorer who expresses an interest in experimentation.

Frankenstein’s narrative frames the famous story, one of the first horror/science-fiction stories in literature. I savored Shelley’s vivid language while I waited to hear about the monster I’d seen depicted in movies. Instead, Frankenstein conveys more horror at what his scientific tinkering has wrought than the object of his invention.

The centerpiece tale, nested within this frame, is told by the creature himself. Vance’s sonorous, full-bodied voice has a depth that evokes the intelligence and loneliness of a giant being who is hated by the humans with whom he wants to connect. This seems the real core of Shelley’s tale and Vance’s intonations, pauses and emotional emphasis express that by making the “wretch’s” painful isolation palpable and his ” vengeful spirit” understandable. The conclusion returns to the initial frame of Frankenstein’s storytelling and makes the tragic ending more horrific than any later conceits rendered by film makers.”

AudioFile Magazine agreed.

This is a new CD rip. The album also had the enclosed ebook. I do not know if this is the 1818 or 1831 version.