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Beautiful horror books from our Clothbound Classics collection

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How your choice of bookmark can tell its own strange story

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Horror stories to listen to with the lights on

The essential Halloween reading list in 10 books 

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10 terrifying classic tales to read

In search of the most authentic Frankenstein movie

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Transformation

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books 
 
'He stretched out his two long, lank arms, that looked like spider’s claws, and seemed to embrace with them the expanse before him' 
 
His inheritance squandered and engagement severed, Guido di Cortese stalks the desolate Genoese coast. A monstrous creature, shipwrecked by a ferocious storm, offers him unimaginable wealth to exchange bodies, entwining their fates. Transformation, with two further tales of striking and eerie power here, shows how Mary Shelley haunts us still.

Mary Shelley (1797-1851) eloped with the poet Percy Shelley at the age of sixteen. Three years later, during a wet summer on Lake Geneva, she wrote her masterpiece, Frankenstein. After the tragic loss of three of her four children and drowning of Percy Shelley in Italy, she returned to England and continued to write until her own death.

'He stretched out his two long, lank arms, that looked like spider’s claws, and seemed to embrace with them the expanse before him' 
 
His inheritance squandered and engagement severed, Guido di Cortese stalks the desolate Genoese coast. A monstrous creature, shipwrecked by a ferocious storm, offers him unimaginable wealth to exchange bodies, entwining their fates. Transformation, with two further tales of striking and eerie power here, shows how Mary Shelley haunts us still.

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley was born in London on 30 August 1797. Her mother, the celebrated feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, died a few days after her birth.Her father, William Godwin, a well-known anarchist and atheist writer, tutored Mary. In 1814, when she was sixteen, she fell in love with the married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and they eloped to France. In 1816 the couple travelled to Lake Geneva to spend the summer with the poet Byron. Mary was inspired to write Frankenstein after Byron arranged a ghost story competition during their stay. In the autumn of 1816 Shelley's pregnant wife drowned herself in the Serpentine in Hyde Park and Shelley immediately married Mary. The couple had four children together but only one son survived infancy. They lived in Italy until Percy's death in a boating accident in 1822. Mary continued to write until her death in London on 1 February 1851. She is buried in Bournemouth.

A beautiful deluxe gift edition of Mary Shelley's gothic masterpiece, the story of the inventor who unleashed a monster, with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper and finished with a silk ribbon. 
 
Navigating the Arctic, the captain of a ship rescues a man wandering near death across the ice caps. How the man got there reveals itself in a story of ambition, murder and revenge. As a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein pushed moral boundaries in order to cross the final frontier and create life. But his creation is a monster stitched together from grave-plundered body parts who has no place in the world, and his existence can only lead to tragedy. 
 
This hardback is part of VINTAGE COLLECTOR’S CLASSICS, a series of luxurious books especially crafted for collectors and fans of beautiful special editions. Sumptuous design meets the highest quality production. Discover timeless classics beautifully bound for every bookshelf.

The Last Man

Mary Shelley's landmark novel that invented the human extinction genre and initiated climate fiction, now in Penguin Classics for the first time 
 
Written while Mary Shelley was in a self-imposed lockdown after the loss of her husband and children, and in the wake of intersecting crises including the climate-changing Mount Tambora eruption and a raging cholera outbreak, The Last Man (1826) is an early work of climate fiction and a prophetic depiction of environmental change. 
 
Set in the late twenty-first century, a deadly pandemic leaves a lone survivor, and follows his journey through a post-apocalyptic world, devoid of humanity and reclaimed by nature. Rather than 
give in to despair, Shelley imagines a new world where freshly-formed communities and alternative ways of being stand in for self-important politicians serving corrupt institutions, and where nature reigns mightily over humanity. 
 
Brimming with political intrigue, The Last Man broaches partisan dysfunction, imperial warfare, refugee crises, and economic collapse—and brings the legacy of her radically progressive parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, to bear on present-day questions about making a better world less centred around “man.”

Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the daughter of pioneering thinkers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, eloped with the poet Percy Shelley at the age of sixteen. Three years later, during a wet summer on Lake Geneva, Shelley famously wrote her masterpiece, Frankenstein. The years of her marriage were blighted by the deaths of three of her four children, and further tragedy followed in 1822, when Percy Shelley drowned in Italy. Following his death, Mary Shelley returned to England and continued to travel and write until her own death at the age of fifty-three.

Written while Mary Shelley was in a self-imposed lockdown after the loss of her husband and children, and in the wake of intersecting crises including the climate-changing Mount Tambora eruption and a raging cholera outbreak, The Last Man (1826) is an early work of climate fiction and a prophetic depiction of environmental change. 
 
Set in the late twenty-first century, a deadly pandemic leaves a lone survivor, and follows his journey through a post-apocalyptic world, devoid of humanity and reclaimed by nature. Rather than 
give in to despair, Shelley imagines a new world where freshly-formed communities and alternative ways of being stand in for self-important politicians serving corrupt institutions, and where nature reigns mightily over humanity. 
 
Brimming with political intrigue, The Last Man broaches partisan dysfunction, imperial warfare, refugee crises, and economic collapse&mdash;and brings the legacy of her radically progressive parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, to bear on present-day questions about making a better world less centred around &ldquo;man&quot;.

A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Gothic Imagination: Dracula, Frankenstein & more

A chilling collection of classic gothic horror and ghost stories adapted or written by women 
 
In this breathtaking collection of gothic horror and eerie tales, draw the curtains and pull the blankets close for two classic Victorian horror tales in new adaptations, Dracula starring Nicky Henson, Charles Edwards, Don Gilet and Ellie Kendrick and Frankenstein, with Jamie Parker (Harry Potter) as Frankenstein and Shaun Dooley (Gentleman Jack, Broadchurch) as the Monster. Next is a thrilling drama about the scandalous Mary Shelley and Lord Byron in Bloody Poetry. In the sensational psycho-sexual thriller The Mysteries of Udolpho with Robert Glenister (Suspicion, Spooks), a young woman is trapped in a castle of nightmares and villains. But who can she trust? 
 
Four spine-chilling dramatised tales follow: The Cold Embrace, where a handsome artist makes a terrible mistake, Man-size in Marble, in which newly-weds must face a horrifying truth, Afterward sees a couple paying the price for an unexpected windfall, and The Demon Lover, featuring Jenny Howe (Silent Witness, Eastenders) about a woman struggling home through the Blitz. 
 
Finally, two of Mary Shelley's finest short stories, 'The Mortal Immortal '- when a young apprentice drinks a potion to cure his heartbreak but discovers a feeling far worse - and 'Rodger Dodworth: The Reanimated Englishman' - where a man is woken after 170 years encased in ice. 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Dracula 
Written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz 
Story written by Bram Stoker 
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 14 October 2012 
 
Frankenstein 
Dramatised by Lucy Catherine 
Written by Mary Shelley 
Directed by Marc Beeby 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 28 October - 4 November 2012 
 
Bloody Poetry 
Written by Howard Brenton 
Adapted by Alison Hindell 
Directed by Alison Hindell 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 20 October 2012 
 
The Mysteries of Udolpho 
Written by Ann Radcliffe 
Dramatised by Catherine Czerkawska 
Directed by David Blount 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 13 October - 24 October 1996 
 
The Cold Embrace 
Written by Mary Braddon 
Produced by Marion Nancarrow 
Directed by Christopher Hawes 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26 July 1997 
 
Man-size in Marble 
Written by Edith Nesbit 
Produced by Marion Nancarrow 
Dramatised by Christopher Hawes 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 17 November 1997 
 
Afterward 
Written by Edith Wharton 
Produced by Marion Nancarrow 
Directed by Christopher Hawes 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 November 1997 
 
The Demon Lover 
Written by Elizabeth Bowen 
Produced by Marion Nancarrow 
Directed by Christopher Hawes 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 17 July 1997 
 
'The Mortal Immortal' 
Written by Mary Shelley 
Produced by Gemma Jenkins 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3 December 2005 
 
'Rodger Dodworth: The Reanimated Englishman' 
Written by Mary Shelley 
Produced by John Cardy 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 May 1982 
 
©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde & The Turn of the Screw

BBC Classics: Suspense Collection

Unabridged readings of four spine-tingling stories 
 
This suspenseful anthology collects together four gripping tales of gruesome scientific experiments and chilling supernatural events - all read in full by some of the very best voice actors. With over 18 hours of electrifying listening, tracked by chapter, these classic tales will have you on the edge of your seat. 
 
Frankenstein 
Mary Shelley's Gothic masterpiece about young scientist Victor Frankenstein, whose quest to create new life has horrific consequences... Read by Shaun Mason. 
 
A Christmas Carol 
Charles Dickens' timeless classic about a bitter old miser who has a Christmas epiphany when he is visited by four spirits. Read by Sean Baker 
 
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 
Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novella about a doctor who experiments with the duality of human nature - and in doing so creates a monster. Read by Sam Dale. 
 
The Turn of the Screw 
Henry James' terrifying tale of a governess sent to look after two children in a haunted country house. Read by Sam Dale and Clare Corbett. 
 
 
Credits: 
 
Frankenstein 
Read by Shaun Mason 
Produced by Martha Littlehailes 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 24 August 2019 
 
A Christmas Carol 
Read by Sean Baker 
Produced by Anne Bunting 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 22 August 2019 
 
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 
Read by Sam Dale 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 22 August 2019 
 
The Turn of the Screw 
Read by Sam Dale and Clare Corbett 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 1 November 2019 
 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unabridged readings of four spine-tingling stories 
 
This suspenseful anthology collects together four gripping tales of gruesome scientific experiments and chilling supernatural events - all read in full by some of the very best voice actors. With over 18 hours of electrifying listening, tracked by chapter, these classic tales will have you on the edge of your seat. 
 
Frankenstein 
Mary Shelley's Gothic masterpiece about young scientist Victor Frankenstein, whose quest to create new life has horrific consequences... Read by Shaun Mason. 
 
A Christmas Carol 
Charles Dickens' timeless classic about a bitter old miser who has a Christmas epiphany when he is visited by four spirits. Read by Sean Baker 
 
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 
Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novella about a doctor who experiments with the duality of human nature - and in doing so creates a monster. Read by Sam Dale. 
 
The Turn of the Screw 
Henry James' terrifying tale of a governess sent to look after two children in a haunted country house. Read by Sam Dale and Clare Corbett. 
 
 
Credits: 
 
Frankenstein 
Read by Shaun Mason 
Produced by Martha Littlehailes 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 24 August 2019 
 
A Christmas Carol 
Read by Sean Baker 
Produced by Anne Bunting 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 22 August 2019 
 
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 
Read by Sam Dale 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 22 August 2019 
 
The Turn of the Screw 
Read by Sam Dale and Clare Corbett 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 1 November 2019 
 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Discover our collectable Puffin Clothbound Classic edition of Frankenstein 
 
Puffin Clothbound Classics are stunning collectable gift editions of some of the best-loved classics in the world - including this striking edition of Frankenstein. 
 
Victor Frankenstein has made a terrible mistake. In his desperate pursuit to create life, he has created a monster. A monster which, abandoned by his master and shunned by everyone it meets, follows Dr Frankenstein to the very ends of the earth with horror and murder in its recycled heart. 
 
Mary Shelley takes the reader on a journey through St Petersburg, to the beautiful Swiss Alps, to the desolate waste of the Arctic Circle, in a story that has sent a chill down the spines of generations. 
 
'A masterpiece' - Philip Pullman 
 
Collect our Puffin Clothbound Classics: 
 9780241444313 The Little Prince 
 9780241663554 The Jungle Book 
 9780241568811 Charlotte's Web 
 9780241688243 Little Women 
 9780241688250 Peter Pan 
 9780241688267 The Railway Children 
 9780241688236 Chinese Cinderella 
 9780241411216 Treasure Island 
 9780241411209 The Wizard of Oz 
 9780241655702 Watership Down 
 9780241663578 The Worst Witch 
 9780241663547 David Copperfield 
 9780241663561 The Neverending Story 
 9780241623909 Stig of the Dump 
 9780241623916 The Dark is Rising 
 9780241411162 The Secret Garden 
 9780241411148 Black Beauty 
 9780241411155 Dracula 
 9780241425121 Frankenstein 
 9780241425138 Wuthering Heights 
 9780241425114 Tales from Shakespeare 
 9780241425107 Tales of the Greek Heroes 
 9780241411193 A Christmas Carol 
 9780241621196 Grimms' Fairy Tales 
 9780241425145 Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales

Puffin Clothbound Classics are stunning collectable hardback editions of some of the best-loved classics in the world - including this striking edition of Frankenstein. 
 
Victor Frankenstein has made a terrible mistake. In his desperate pursuit to create life, he has created a monster. A monster which, abandoned by his master and shunned by everyone it meets, follows Dr Frankenstein to the very ends of the earth with horror and murder in its recycled heart. 
 
Shelley takes the reader on a journey through St Petersburg, to the beautiful Swiss Alps, to the desolate waste of the Arctic Circle, in a story that has sent a chill down the spines of generations.

Abridged Edition

Penguin Readers Level 5: Frankenstein (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys. 
 
Victor Frankenstein wants to make his own creature from stolen body parts. But when the creature is finished, Frankenstein is shocked by his creation and runs away. Lonely and angry, the creature plans to kill his maker and all the people that Frankenstein loves.

Ladybird (Author) We make growing up the best story ever! Here at Ladybird, we publish playful books for little hands. From touch-and-feel books to bedtime stories and non-fiction, we help 0-7s to learn, play and grow - sparking plenty of smiles along the way. The home of Ten Minutes to Bed, Baby Touch, Peppa Pig and Hey Duggee, we know just how to capture curious little imaginations and guide them from one story to the next. Mary Shelley (Author) Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the daughter of pioneering thinkers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, eloped with the poet Percy Shelley at the age of sixteen. Three years later, during a wet summer on Lake Geneva, Shelley famously wrote her masterpiece, Frankenstein. The years of her marriage were blighted by the deaths of three of her four children, and further tragedy followed in 1822, when Percy Shelley drowned in Italy. Following his death, Mary Shelley returned to England and continued to travel and write until her own death at the age of fifty-three.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Frankenstein, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Victor Frankenstein wants to make his own creature from stolen body parts. But when the creature is finished, Frankenstein is shocked by his creation and runs away. Lonely and angry, the creature plans to kill his maker and all the people that Frankenstein loves.

'It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open . . .' Frankenstein

A haunting, melancholy work of gothic beauty

The most famous of all horror stories still packs a punch

Frankenstein launched an entire genre of dystopian fiction, and a legacy of horror at the consequences of unbridled experimentation

Shelley’s speechifying, lonely, Miltonic monster remains one of the greatest characters in all of literature… The book may also be the greatest meditation on birth I have ever read

Frankenstein launched an entire genre of dystopian fiction, and a legacy of horror at the consequences of unbridled experimentation

Shelley’s speechifying, lonely, Miltonic monster remains one of the greatest characters in all of literature… The book may also be the greatest meditation on birth I have ever read.

Jeanette Winterson (Afterword by) Jeanette Winterson CBE was born in Manchester. She published her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, at twenty-five. Over two decades later she revisited that material in her internationally bestselling memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?. Winterson has written thirteen novels for adults and two previous collections of short stories, as well as children's books, non-fiction and screenplays. She is Professor of New Writing at the University of Manchester. She lives in the Cotswolds in a wood and in Spitalfields, London. Mary Shelley (Author) Mary Shelley was born in London on 30 August 1797. Her mother, the celebrated feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, died a few days after her birth.Her father, William Godwin, a well-known anarchist and atheist writer, tutored Mary. In 1814, when she was sixteen, she fell in love with the married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and they eloped to France. In 1816 the couple travelled to Lake Geneva to spend the summer with the poet Byron. Mary was inspired to write Frankenstein after Byron arranged a ghost story competition during their stay. In the autumn of 1816 Shelley's pregnant wife drowned herself in the Serpentine in Hyde Park and Shelley immediately married Mary. The couple had four children together but only one son survived infancy. They lived in Italy until Percy's death in a boating accident in 1822. Mary continued to write until her death in London on 1 February 1851. She is buried in Bournemouth.

A beautiful new edition of Mary Shelley's Gothic horror classic, Frankenstein 
 
INCLUDES A CULTURAL HISTORY OF FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER BY JEANETTE WINTERSON 
 
Navigating the Arctic, the captain of a ship rescues a man wandering near death across the ice caps. How the man got there reveals itself a story of ambition, murder and revenge. As a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein pushed moral boundaries in order to cross the final frontier and create life. But his creation is a monster stitched together from grave-plundered body parts who has no place in the world, and his existence can only lead to tragedy. 
 
**One of the BBC’s 100 Novels That Shaped Our World**

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text

Mary Shelley's seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster 
 
This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.

Mary Shelley (Author) Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the daughter of pioneering thinkers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, eloped with the poet Percy Shelley at the age of sixteen. Three years later, during a wet summer on Lake Geneva, Shelley famously wrote her masterpiece, Frankenstein. The years of her marriage were blighted by the deaths of three of her four children, and further tragedy followed in 1822, when Percy Shelley drowned in Italy. Following his death, Mary Shelley returned to England and continued to travel and write until her own death at the age of fifty-three. Charlotte Gordon (Introducer) Charlotte Gordon is a prize-winning poet and biographer. She received her undergraduate degree in English and American Literature from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Boston University. Since 1986, she has taught creative writing, history, literature, religion, and theatre. Her poetry has won many prizes, including a Robert Penn Warren Award. Her biography of the seventeenth-century poet, Anne Bradstreet, Mistress Bradstreet: The Untold Life of America’s First Poet won a Massachusetts Book Award for non-fiction. Her latest book, Romantic Outlaws, tells of the fascinating and eerily similar lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley.

Five BBC radio full-cast dramatisations

Classic Radio Sci-Fi: BBC Drama Collection

Five seminal science fiction classics are brought vividly to life in these gripping BBC Radio dramatisations.

Five seminal science fiction classics are brought vividly to life in these gripping BBC Radio dramatisations, with casts including Robert Glenister, William Gaunt, Carleton Hobbs and Joanne Froggatt. "Frankenstein" (1994) is adapted from one of the first science fiction novels, Mary Shelley's tale of a scientist who tries to play God and creates a monster. "The Time Machine" (2009) dramatises one of the first stories to feature time travel, HG Wells' thrilling tale of an inventor who discovers a dystopian future. "The Lost World" (1975) is based on a classic fantasy adventure story by Arthur Conan Doyle's, whose notion of dinosaurs roaming our world was the inspiration for Jurassic Park. "R.U.R." (1989) is a radio production of Karel Capek's thought-provoking play which introduced the word 'robot' to the English language. "Solaris" (2007) dramatises Stanislaw Lem's pioneering ghost story set in space, both a suspenseful thriller and a philosophical meditation on guilt and the human condition. Accompanying this collection is a bonus PDF file featuring extensive sleeve notes by Andrew Pixley. Duration: 10 hours approx.

Matilda

'I gained his secret and we were both lost for ever' 
 
Mary Shelley's dark story of a bereaved man's disturbing passion for his daughter was suppressed by her own father, and not published for over a century. 
 
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

Ladybird Classics: Frankenstein

This Ladybird Classic is an abridged retelling of the classic tale of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A perfect introduction to the famous story, it is ideal for adults to read with children, or for newly confident readers to tackle alone. Please note that due to some scary parts in places, content may not be suitable for very young or sensitive readers. 
 
Victor Frankenstein has always been fascinated by the darker side of nature One fateful night, his sinister obsession triggers a chain of events that will have terrible consequences for Frankenstein and those closest to him... 
 
Beautiful new illustrations and a gorgeous larger format with ribbon marker bring the magic of this classic story to a new generation of children.

This Ladybird Classic is an abridged retelling of the classic tale of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A perfect introduction to the well-loved legend, it is ideal for adults to read with children, or for newly confident readers to tackle alone. Please note that due to some scary parts in places, content may not be suitable for very young or sensitive readers. 
 
Beautiful new illustrations and a gorgeous larger format with ribbon marker bring the magic of this classic story to a new generation of children.

Mary Shelley (Author) Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the daughter of pioneering thinkers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, eloped with the poet Percy Shelley at the age of sixteen. Three years later, during a wet summer on Lake Geneva, Shelley famously wrote her masterpiece, Frankenstein. The years of her marriage were blighted by the deaths of three of her four children, and further tragedy followed in 1822, when Percy Shelley drowned in Italy. Following his death, Mary Shelley returned to England and continued to travel and write until her own death at the age of fifty-three. Guillermo del Toro (Introducer) Guillermo del Toro was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1964. He is the director of the films Cronos, Mimic, The Devil's Backbone, Blade II, Hellboy, Hellboy II, Pacific Rim and Pan's Labyrinth, which garnered enormous critical praise worldwide and won three Academy Awards, and The Shape of Water, which won the 2018 Oscar Award for Best Picture.

The epic battle between man and monster reaches its greatest pitch in the famous story of Frankenstein. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor himself to the very brink. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship . . . and horror.

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One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World' 
 
A stunning new clothbound edition of Mary Shelley's infamous work of horror fiction, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. These delectable and collectible Penguin editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design 
 
Obsessed by creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life by electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. This chilling gothic tale, begun when Mary Shelley was just nineteen years old, would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity. 
 
This edition also includes 'A Fragment' by Lord Byron and 'The Vampyre: A Tale' by John Polidori, as well as an introduction and notes 
 
Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the daughter of pioneering thinkers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, eloped with the poet Percy Shelley at the age of sixteen. Three years later, during a wet summer on Lake Geneva, Shelley famously wrote her masterpiece, Frankenstein. The years of her marriage were blighted by the deaths of three of her four children, and further tragedy followed in 1822, when Percy Shelley drowned in Italy. Following his death, Mary Shelley returned to England and continued to travel and write until her own death at the age of fifty-three.

Mary Shelley's heart-breaking modern myth of obsession, pride and the need for love, dramatised for BBC Radio, starring Jamie Parker. 
 
Frankenstein was written by a teenager and the story has all the energy and emotional intensity of this time of life. It's a thrilling, horrifying adventure, packed with incident and breath-taking moments. But the incident and surface horror are metaphors for deeper, ever relevant themes: the hubris of science and those who practise it without moral responsibility; society's attitudes to difference; the quest for love. Most importantly, it raises profound questions about children; the love/hate relationship between parents and adolescents; the guilt and pain suffered by both when it all goes wrong. 
 
Dramatised by Lucy Catherine. 
Directed by Marc Beeby. 
Starring Jamie Parker as Frankenstein, with Shaun Dooley, Susie Riddell, Alun Raglan, Robert Blythe, Sam Alexander, Christine Alexander, Patrick Brennan, Bruce Alexander, Emma Hook, Joe Sims and Don Gilet. Music by Colin Guthrie. 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2012. 
 
 
©2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World' 
 
The Penguin English Library Edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 
 
'Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome, yet appalling hideousness' 
 
A twisted, upside-down creation myth, Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale lays bare the dark side of science, and the horror within us all. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who plunders graveyards to create a new being from the bodies of the dead - but whose botched creature causes nothing but murder and destruction. Written after a nightmare when its author was only eighteen, Frankenstein gave birth to the modern science fiction novel. 
 
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Mary Shelley (1797-1851) was the daughter of the philosopher William Godwin, who disowned her when she eloped with the married man and poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. They married after the suicide of his first wife. It was their friend Lord Byron, with whom the couple spent a summer in Switzerland, who suggested that she and Percy each write a horror story. Frankenstein was the result, inspired by a nightmare Shelley had when she was eighteen years old and published by the time she was twenty-one.

The Penguin English Library Edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 
 
'Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome, yet appalling hideousness' 
 
A twisted, upside-down creation myth, Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale lays bare the dark side of science, and the horror within us all. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who plunders graveyards to create a new being from the bodies of the dead - but whose botched creature causes nothing but murder and destruction. Written after a nightmare when its author was only eighteen, Frankenstein gave birth to the modern science fiction novel. 
 
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Frankenstein (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Mary Shelley was born in 1797, the only daughter of writers William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. In 1814 she eloped with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, whom she married in 1816. She is best remembered as the author of Frankenstein, but she wrote several other works, including Valperga and The Last Man. She died in 1851. Maurice Hindle studied at the universities of Keele, Durham and Essex, gaining a Ph.D. in Literature from Essex in 1989. He currently teaches at the Open University.

Now a Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition with an introduction by Elizabeth Kostova and cover art by Ghost World creator Daniel Clowes, Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel presents the epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.

Michael Maloney stars in this dark, brooding dramatisation of Mary Shelley's famous novel.

Frankenstein, first published in 1818, is widely recognised as being one of the first 'science fiction' novels. Starring Michael Maloney as Frankenstein and John Wood as the Creature, this spine-tingling dramatisation perfectly conveys the book's pervasive sense of unease and dread. 
 
Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious young scientist and seeker after knowledge, considers it the pinnacle of his career when he makes a Creature in his own name. But his triumph soon turns to horror, and he is appalled when the Creature, denied a female counterpart, turns against his creator and commits a terrible crime. In a desperate attempt to destroy his creation, the scientist tracks him from Europe to the desolate North Pole, and in this bleak landscape of ice and fog, prepares to confront his nemesis...

wonderful retelling of the timeless, classic story. The acting is uniformly impressive, as are the sound effects.

Three Gothic Novels

The Gothic novel, which flourished from about 1765 until 1825, revels in the horrible and the supernatural, in suspense and exotic settings.

Horace Walpole; William Beckford; Mary Shelley; 
 
 
Ed. Peter Fairclough, Intro. Mario Praz

The Gothic novel, which flourished from about 1765 until 1825, revels in the horrible and the supernatural, in suspense and exotic settings. 
 
This volume, with its erudite introduction by Mario Praz, presents three of the most celebrated Gothic novels: The Castle of Otranto, published pseudonymously in 1765, is one of the first of the genre and the most truly Gothic of the three. Vathek (1786), an oriental tale by an eccentric millionaire, exotically combines Gothic romanticism with the vivacity of The Arabian Nights and is a narrative tour de force. The story of Frankenstein (1818) and the monster he created is as spine-chilling today as it ever was; as in all Gothic novels, horror is the keynote.

Penguin Classics

Mary and Maria, Matilda

Three dark and passionate short stories from two powerful writers, who are also mother and daughter

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) was an educational, political and feminist writer who early in her life worked as a companion, teacher and governess. In 1788 she settled in London and began to work for the publisher Joseph Johnson, through whom she became part of the radical set that included Paine, Blake, Godwin and Fuseli. Her great work A Vindication of the Rights of Women was published in 1792. She lived in Paris during the French Revolution and had child with Gilbert Imlay, who subsequently deserted her. Following her return to London and attempted suicide, she married Godwin in 1797 shortly before the birth of her daughter Mary Shelley. She died in child birth. 
 
Mary Shelley (1797-1851) was born in London. In 1814 she met and fell in love with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and in July they eloped to the continent. They married in 1816 after Shelley's first wife committed suicide. They had four children, but only Percy Florence survived. They returned to London from Italy upon Shelley's death by drowning in 1822. Her best known work is Frankenstein. 
 
 
Janet Todd is a Professor at Glasgow University. She has edited Aphra Behn's Oroonoko, The Rover and Other Works and Love-Letters between a Nobleman and his Sister for Penguin Classics.

These three works of fiction - two by Mary Wollstonecraft, the radical author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and one by her daughter Mary Shelley, creator of Frankenstein - are powerfully emotive stories that combine passion with forceful feminist argument. In Mary Wollstonecraft's Mary, the heroine flees her young husband in order to nurse her dearest friend, Ann, and finds genuine love, while Maria tells of a desperate young woman who seeks consolation in the arms of another man after the loss of her child. And Mary Shelley's Matilda -  suppressed for over a century - tells the story of a woman alienated from society by the incestuous passion of her father. Humane, compassionate and highly controversial, these stories demonstrate the strongly original genius of their authors.

Mary Shelley

Jules Verne

Samuel Butler

H. G. Wells

Arthur Conan Doyle

John Wyndham

Jamie Parker

Shaun Dooley

Stephen Critchlow

Joel McCormack

Graeme Hawley

Jasmine Hyde

Jonathan Taller

Bridget Forsyth

Blake Ritson

Samuel James

Bill Paterson

Bill Nighy

Sarah Parrish

Full Cast

Six Full-Cast Dramatisations

Full-cast dramatisations of six seminal sci-fi novels that have shaped the genre 
 
Thrilling and thought-provoking, shocking and satirical; science fiction has long captivated us with its surprising scenarios and subversion of the familiar. Included here are six classics from the past 250 years, each offering a unique exploration of the genre's foundational themes. From monsters, Martians and fantastical machines to rip-roaring adventures, utopian tales and ‘cosy catastrophes’, these stunning dramas introduce us to other worlds – and make us see our own world differently... 
 
Brought to life by an incredible cast, including Bill Nighy, Brigit Forsyth, Jamie Parker, Shaun Dooley, Stephen Critchlow, Blake Ritson, Bill Paterson and more. 
 
Frankenstein – First published in 1818, Mary Shelley’s famous horror story about a scientist who reanimates a living creature in a horrific experiment is widely considered the first science fiction novel. 
Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Scientific curiosity sparks an epic quest in Jules Verne’s 1864 novel, as three intrepid explorers venture into the heart of a dormant Icelandic volcano. 
Erewhon – Samuel Butler’s 1872 classic centres on the explorer Higgs, who discovers a remote land where the use of machines is forbidden, having a cold is a crime, and the greatest scholarly achievement is the study of unreason. 
The War of the Worlds – Following sightings of strange explosions on the surface of Mars, Martian ships begin to arrive on Earth. But scientific excitement quickly turns to horror... 
The Disintegration Machine – Indomitable academic Professor Challenger sets out to investigate dastardly Latvian scientist Theodore Nemor, who has invented a startling device capable of disassembling and reforming objects.... 
The Midwich Cuckoos – The rural idyll of 1950s Midwich is overturned by a mysterious alien force that causes all the fertile women in the area to simultaneously become pregnant... 
 
First published 1818 (Frankenstein), 1864 (JttCotE), 1872 (Erewhon), 1895 (TWotW), 1929 (TDM), 1957 (TMC) 
 
Cast and credits 
Frankenstein 
Cast: Jamie Parker, Shaun Dooley, Susie Riddell, Alun Raglan, Robert Blythe, Sam Alexander, Christine Absalom, Patrick Brennan, Emma Hook, Joe Sims, Don Gilet, Bruce Alexander 
Written by Mary Shelley 
Dramatised by Lucy Catherine 
Directed by Marc Beeby 
 
Journey to the Centre of the Earth 
Cast: Joel MacCormack, Stephen Critchlow, Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, Nicola Ferguson, Elizabeth Bennett, Nick Underwood, Sam Rix, Tom Forrister, Scarlett Brookes 
Written by Jules Verne 
Dramatised by Moya O’Shea 
Directed by Tracey Neale 
Composer: Neil Brand 
 
Erewhon 
Cast: Graeme Hawley, Jasmine Hyde, Jonathan Taller, Sue Ryding, Brigit Forsyth, Leigh Symonds, David Fleeshman, Stuart Richman 
Written by Samuel Butler 
Dramatised by Eamonn O'Neill, Martin Shea and James O'Neill 
Produced and directed by Gary Brown 
 
The War of the Worlds 
Cast: Blake Ritson, Samuel James, John Dougall, Sanchia McCormack, Carl Prekopp, David Sterne, Maeve Bluebell Wells, Finlay Robertson, Nick Murchie, Sarah Ridgeway, Georgie Glen, John Bowler, David Sturzaker 
Written by HG Wells 
Dramatised by Melissa Murray 
Directed by Marc Beeby 
 
The Disintegration Machine 
Cast: Bill Paterson, Gunnar Cauthery, Nick Ball, Robert Lloyd Parry, Joanna Monro, Alexandria Everett 
Written by Arthur Conan Doyle 
Dramatised by Robert Lloyd Parry 
Directed by Fiona Kelcher 
 
The Midwich Cuckoos 
Cast: Bill Nighy, Sarah Parish, Clive Merrison, Nicholas R Bailey, Katherine Tozer, Mark Chatterton, Barbara Marten, Malcolm Raeburn, Christine Brennan, Rebecca Bridle 
Written by John Wyndham 
Dramatised by Dan Rebellato 
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas 
Original music composed and performed by Chris Madin 
 
(P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Classic Science Fiction: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

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