{"id":78,"date":"2019-12-02T13:10:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T13:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/?page_id=78"},"modified":"2024-10-28T12:13:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T12:13:02","slug":"making-the-monster-the-science-of-mary-shelleys-frankenstein","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/?page_id=78","title":{"rendered":"Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein<\/em><\/a><\/h1>\n
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The year 1818 saw the publication of one of the most influential science-fiction stories of all time. Frankenstein: Or, Modern Prometheus<\/em> by Mary Shelley had a huge impact on gothic horror and science-fiction genres, and her creation has become part of our everyday culture, from cartoons to Hallowe’en costumes. Even the name ‘Frankenstein’ has become a by-word for evil scientists and dangerous experiments. How did a teenager with no formal education come up with the idea for an extraordinary novel such as Frankenstein?<\/p>\n\n

Clues are dotted throughout Georgian science and popular culture. The years before the book’s publication saw huge advances in our understanding of the natural sciences, in areas such as electricity and physiology, for example. Sensational science demonstrations caught the imagination of the general public, while the newspapers were full of lurid tales of murderers and resurrectionists.<\/p>\n\n

Making the Monster<\/em> explores the scientific background behind Mary Shelley’s book. Is there any science fact behind the science fiction? And how might a real-life Victor Frankenstein have gone about creating his monster? From tales of volcanic eruptions, artificial life and chemical revolutions, to experimental surgery, ‘monsters’ and electrical experiments on human cadavers, Kathryn Harkup examines the science and scientists that influenced Shelley, and inspired her most famous creation.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Talks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I wrote about Frankenstein<\/em> and I also give talks about the science that may have inspired Mary Shelley. To hear how to make your own monster click here<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cLucidly illuminates<\/strong> Shelley’s investment in the rapidly expanding knowledge of chemistry, biology and electricity of her times, and reminds us of how Frankenstein<\/em> helped inspire technological developments, such as the pacemaker.\u201d\u00a0\u2013\u00a0 Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cMaking the Monster <\/em>reassembles the intellectual toolkit<\/strong> Shelley had at her disposal … everything she could have known about alchemy, spontaneous generation, phlogiston, physical decomposition, anatomy, transplant surgery, galvanism and human reanimation, digested for the 21st-century reader.\u201d\u00a0\u2013\u00a0 Literary Review<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cAn engaging<\/strong> account of the facts and fears of the 19th century that lay behind the composition of Mark Shelley’s Frankenstein. A telling reminder that although science has moved on, fears about what it might soon do have scarcely changed.\u201d\u00a0\u2013\u00a0 Steve Jones FRS, Emeritus Professor of Genetics at UCL, author and broadcaster<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cA fascinating and educational<\/strong> journey through the shadowy twists and turns of medical history. The odours of the dissection rooms and the sounds of the public executions are brought to life just as vividly as the monster himself.\u201d\u00a0\u2013\u00a0 Carla Valentine, Mortician and Pathology Museum Curator<\/em><\/p>\n\n

LA Public Library<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Podcasts\/Interviews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Studium Generale Delft – Mary’s Shelley’s Frankenstein<\/a><\/p>\n\n

BYU Radio – Frankenstein Science<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Vox – The Real Experiments that Inspired Frankenstein<\/a><\/p>\n\n

The Mind’s Eye Podcast – The Untold Story of Frankenstein<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Science(ish) – Frankenstein<\/a><\/p>\n\n

LA Public Library – Making the Monster<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein The year 1818 saw the publication of one of the most influential science-fiction stories of all time. Frankenstein: Or, Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley had a huge impact on gothic horror and science-fiction genres, and her creation has become part of our everyday culture, from cartoons […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-78","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1030,"href":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78\/revisions\/1030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harkup.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}