8 h 22 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 22 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a creator owe the life he brings into the world—and then abandons?
Victor Frankenstein discovers how to give life to lifeless matter. But when his work succeeds, he cannot bear to look at the being he has made. In Mary Shelley’s Gothic science fiction novel, a young scientist’s hunger for discovery becomes a struggle with guilt, secrecy, and a responsibility he tries to escape.
Far away, a ship caught in Arctic ice carries Robert Walton, an explorer who listens to Victor’s terrible story. Within that account, the creature speaks for himself. Intelligent and sensitive, he learns to read and longs for companionship. His voice asks you to look beyond his appearance and consider what rejection does to a life.
What you’ll discover
- Creation without care Face the troubling gap between Victor’s power to make life and his willingness to protect it.
- The creature speaks Meet a being who reads, reasons, and grieves while searching for someone to welcome him.
- Voices within voices Listen as Walton, Victor, and the creature each ask you to judge another’s story.
- Ice, storms, and shadows Enter a Gothic world of frozen seas, mountain storms, and the loneliness of rejected lives.
- Ambition under question Explore what science demands of conscience, and what society owes those it refuses to accept.
Who will love it
Readers who love dark, atmospheric tales and questions of science and conscience will enjoy this novel. It suits those drawn to confessions, stormy mountains, and a monster with a thoughtful voice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lonely captain finds a stranger in the ice
- A happy childhood feeds a dangerous hunger
- Victor builds a life and flees his creation
- A child dies and an innocent girl is blamed
- On the glacier the creature asks to be heard
- Rejection and rage lead to a terrible bargain
- Victor builds again and doubt begins to grow
- A maker owes care to what he makes
- Ambition without conscience isolates and destroys
- Nested voices and wild landscapes carry the story
Who’s who
- Victor FrankensteinA gifted young scientist from Geneva who gives life to a being and then flees from the result.
- The creatureA giant, thoughtful being who teaches himself language and longs for a friend, but meets only fear.
- Robert WaltonA sea captain bound for the North Pole who writes the story down and finds a friend in Victor.
- Elizabeth LavenzaVictor's adopted cousin and promised bride, gentle and loyal, who hopes to see him happy.
- Henry ClervalVictor's warm, adventurous childhood friend who nurses him through illness and loves poetry and travel.
- Justine MoritzA kind young servant in the Frankenstein home who is accused of a crime she did not commit.
- Alphonse FrankensteinVictor's father, a respected Genevan who wants only to see his family safe and united.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley · 1818
Sailors voyaging toward the North Pole rescue a half-frozen stranger from the ice, and the stranger's story begins.
Medium level5–10 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
What would you do if you pulled a half-frozen stranger from the polar ice, and he told you he was chasing the creature he made? Captain Robert Walton sails toward the North Pole and writes to his sister about the rescue.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A lonely captain finds a stranger in the ice
The book opens with letters from Robert Walton to his sister in England. He is a young captain bound for the North Pole, driven by dreams of unknown lands and a new sea passage that could help all humanity. He has everything he needs except a friend.
In August the ship is nearly shut in by ice. Through the lifting fog the crew sees a sledge driven by a figure of giant size, racing north. The next morning a second sledge drifts close, with a worn European man inside. Before he comes aboard, he asks where the ship is going.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 8 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1818
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 5 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/frankenstein-or-the-modern-prometheus.
Shelley, M. (2026). Frankenstein. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/frankenstein-or-the-modern-prometheus (Original work published 1818)
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/frankenstein-or-the-modern-prometheus.
@book{shelley2026frankenstein,
author = {Shelley, Mary},
title = {Frankenstein},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/frankenstein-or-the-modern-prometheus},
note = {First published 1818}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Frankenstein
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Frankenstein about?
A young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, builds a living being from dead matter and abandons it in horror. The creature seeks love and finds hatred, and the two become locked in a chase across Europe and the Arctic.
Who is the monster in Frankenstein, and does he have a name?
The creature has no name. Victor Frankenstein is the scientist who made him, and people often use the name Frankenstein for the monster by mistake. The book calls him the creature, the wretch, the fiend and the dæmon.
Why does the book start with letters from a ship captain?
Robert Walton's letters to his sister frame the story. He rescues Victor from the ice and writes down his tale, so the reader hears Victor's account through a witness who also faces the temptation of ambition.
The author
Mary Shelley
1797–1851 · English Gothic novelist
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was an English writer born in London in 1797. She lived in England and Italy and married the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1816. She wrote Frankenstein, published in 1818, and The Last Man, published in 1826. She died in London in 1851.
More by Mary Shelley
All 4 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
