Explore some Frankenstein
See the changes in the texts of the original books.
https://frankensteinvariorum.org/
Update - October / 2024
Frankenstein is explored in a fascinating way through the “Frankenstein Variorum”, an online tool that allows users to compare different versions of the novel. It highlights how the text has changed across various editions, letting you examine individual passages and track their revisions over time. For example, the differences between the 1818 and 1831 editions are so significant that many scholars and educators consider them almost two distinct novels. There's no consensus on a definitive version, though interest in the 1818 edition has grown since the 1990s as it became more widely available in educational settings.
This tool offers more than just a comparison of the 1818 and 1831 editions. It includes five different stages of the novel's creation, revealing that the evolution of “Frankenstein” didn’t follow a straightforward path. A visual diagram also illustrates the relationships between the manuscript and published versions written between 1816 and 1831, providing further insight into the novel's complex development.
While the tool is especially valuable for those deeply invested in “Frankenstein”, it also appeals to anyone with an interest in information design, as its interface is thoughtfully and elegantly crafted.
My version of the Illustrated Frankenstein is here:
Wow! Love that illustration!
I just finished the Paper Mill Press version of Frankenstein, and had no idea that text changed so significantly between versions. My edition makes no mention of what version it's drawing from.
The thing that shocked me is how different the Shelley book is from the Hollywood adaptations I'd grown up on.
There’s no mention that the monster was made from corpses, only that Frankenstein visited charnel-houses to study bodies and at some point collected bones. But there’s no mention of using them in the monster. And there’s no electricity. And his laboratory is a little sideroom in his rented apartments in a university town with other students all around him.
He just has a bunch of beakers and alchemical mixtures, and he’s worried that if he gives the monster a wife they’ll breed and create monster babies that will take over the world. And Frankenstein is contantly fainting and having nervous breakdowns as a plot device — super victorian.
There’s no peasants with pitchforks and torches. And the monster doesn’t talk in grunts. He’s got the eloquence of a Shakespearean villain, all victorian-style compound, complex sentences that go on for paragraphs.
I guess there's a core idea intact between book and movie, but little else.