EPISODE · Jul 28, 2025 · 33 MIN
Fiction and the Fantastic: ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley
from Close Readings · host London Review of Books
Born from grief, exile, intellectual ferment and the ‘year without a summer’, Frankenstein is a creation myth with its own creation myth. Mary Shelley’s novel is a foundational work of science fiction, horror and trauma narrative, and continues to spark reinvention and reinterpretation. In their fourth conversation together, Adam Thirlwell and Marina Warner explore Shelley’s treatment of birth, death, monstrosity and the limits of science. They discuss Frankenstein’s philosophical and personal undercurrents, and how the creature and his creator have broken free from the book. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrff In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsff Read more in the LRB: Claire Tomalin on Mary Shelley’s letters: https://lrb.me/ffshelley1 Caroline Gonda on the original Frankenstein: https://lrb.me/ffshelley2 Marilyn Butler on Frankenstein as myth: https://lrb.me/ffshelley3 Anne Barton on Mary Shelley’s life: https://lrb.me/ffshelley4 LRB Audiobooks Discover audiobooks from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiobooksff
What this episode covers
Born from grief, exile, intellectual ferment and the ‘year without a summer’, Frankenstein is a creation myth with its own creation myth. Mary Shelley’s novel is a foundational work of science fiction, horror and trauma narrative, and continues to spark reinvention and reinterpretation. In their fourth conversation together, Adam Thirlwell and Marina Warner explore Shelley’s treatment of birth, death, monstrosity and the limits of science. They discuss Frankenstein’s philosophical and personal undercurrents, and how the creature and his creator have broken free from the book. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrff In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsff Read more in the LRB: Claire Tomalin on Mary Shelley’s letters: https://lrb.me/ffshelley1 Caroline Gonda on the original Frankenstein: https://lrb.me/ffshelley2 Marilyn Butler on Frankenstein as myth: https://lrb.me/ffshelley3 Anne Barton on Mary Shelley’s life: https://lrb.me/ffshelley4 LRB Audiobooks Discover audiobooks from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiobooksff
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Fiction and the Fantastic: ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley
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