Tag Archives: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

But I am a blasted tree

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

During my youthful days discontent never visited my mind; and if I was ever overcome by ennui, the sight of what is beautiful in nature, or the study of what is excellent and sublime in the productions of man, could … Continue reading →

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Frankenstein Season

Posted on October 21, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The Frankenstein Varorium is an online tool which allows the user to explore the iconic Science Fiction novel’s text through its various incarnations, allowing the user to select individual passages and see how they have evolved through different revisions of … Continue reading →

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We are all wingnuts to somebody and other trivia

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Berkeley, CA now has a Wingnut Museum. “The wingnut was invented in the first half of the 19th century and quickly became an indispensable piece of hardware. It lets users fasten bolts by hand, without tools, using little wings jutting out … Continue reading →

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Last Lines

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

He loved Big Brother. –George Orwell, 1984 (1949) ⇔ Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped … Continue reading →

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A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

The 1827 novel, The Mummy: A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century,  by Jane Webb, was reissued last month as part of the Haunted Library of Horror Classics series. Originally issued as a three-volume pocket-sized novel, the book concerns the Egyptian mummy … Continue reading →

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If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

TIL that Mary Shelley actually wrote her groundbreaking novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus while she was living in Bath, England. I also discovered that the new Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein, opened in Bath last week. The multimedia museum … Continue reading →

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Science Fiction Day

Posted on January 2, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Even if you are one of those readers who claim that they don’t like science fiction, it’s more than likely that there are some works in the genre that you have appreciated and enjoyed. When it comes to science fiction … Continue reading →

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Science Fiction Inspires Science IRL

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

News of scientist Giovanni Aldini’s electric reanimation experiments on corpses in 1803 reached author Mary Shelley before the publication of her  iconic science fiction book Frankenstein. It was an instance of science informing fiction. In turn, Shelley’s masterpiece would eventually … Continue reading →

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There be monsters

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Just in time for Halloween, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto has opened De Monstris, an exhibition exploring the long cultural tradition of frightening monsters that inflamed imaginations and triggered irrational fears throughout history. De Monstris examines scary illustrations and writings from … Continue reading →

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Frankenstein Deluxe

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

To commemorate the bicentennial of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein  this year, Les Éditions des Saints Pères in Paris has published a limited edition, deluxe facsimile of the original manuscript in the author’s own handwriting. “Frankenstein is a canon in the history of … Continue reading →

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