Library acquires first edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Since its publication in 1818, the story of Frankenstein by English author Mary Shelley has gripped the imaginations of readers for generations, spawning countless interpretive films, tv shows, plays and books. The narrative, which follows a scientist and the monster he creates from animating human body parts, is considered a cornerstone of the Gothic genre and the birth of science fiction. Few other novels can claim to have had such widespread influence and remained in popular culture 200 years after their publication.
The acquisition of this book was made possible through the Pamela Winifrid Green Bequest Fund. The book holds significant potential for research and teaching, and will be studied in the Library for generations to come.
Significance of this copy
Published anonymously on 1 January 1818 in a run of 500 copies, the first edition of Frankenstein included a preface written by Percy Shelley and a dedication to the author’s father, William Godwin.
This exquisite copy (SF S545 J1 4), recently acquired by the Library, is three volumes bound in one in a contemporary binding, with provenance linked to both Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft. On the title page of Volume I, it bears the ownership inscription of Sir Gilbert East (pictured below), who had been a student at Steventon under Jane Austen’s father George Austen from 1779-1783 and was the subject of Mrs Austen’s poem ‘Epistle to G. East, Esqr’. East’s father, Sir William East, was an acquaintance of Austen’s aunt Mrs Leigh-Perrot, and was a friend and benefactor to Mary Shelley’s mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, after her attempted suicide in 1796. Sir William received special commendation in Godwin’s memoirs for the kindness he showed to Wollstonecraft at this time.
The book has been fully digitised and can be viewed in high-resolution on the Library’s Digital Collection’s website.
The Original Monster: The first edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
In celebration of this new acquisition, and as part of the University’s 175th Anniversary celebrations, the Library is hosting a free talk by Professor Vanessa Smith.
This talk will explore the fascinating circumstances of Frankenstein's creation, its cultural impact, and the significance of our unique copy.
- Wednesday 7 May 2025, 6pm
- Belinda Hutchinson Building (H70), University of Sydney
Please join us afterwards for light refreshments and a viewing of this remarkable first edition.
About Frankenstein
The lore of how Shelley conceptualised Frankenstein is fascinating in itself. In 1816, Mary Shelley (then Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin) was staying in Lake Geneva with her future-husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and her stepsister Claire Clairmont, who was pregnant to Lord Byron. Lord Byron’s physician, John Polidori, was also present.
Tensions ran high within the group with a love triangle emerging between John Polidori who was nonreciprocally infatuated with Mary Shelley, who was committed to her lover Percy Bysshe Shelley with whom she already shared a child. However, the most enduring story of the trip is Frankenstein.
The group’s time was marked by disastrous weather; 1816 was infamously dubbed “the Year Without a Summer”. It was during a dark and stormy evening that Lord Byron challenged the group to each write a ghost story. “I busied myself to think of a story”, Mary Shelley later wrote, “—a story to rival those which had excited us to this task. One which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature, and awaken thrilling horror—one to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart”.* Shelley’s resulting story was Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.
Frankenstein reflected growing queries and theories in the world at the time; alchemy, galvanism and the occult were fascinations, as well as new scientific inventions such as electricity. Exploration of faraway regions also featured in the story, with a significant part of the plot taking place in the Arctic.
The legacy of Frankenstein
200 years on since its publication, Frankenstein remains a cultural touchpoint, having inspired countless reworkings up until today. For example, later this year, renowned Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro will premiere his own Frankenstein. Notably, the writer-director said: “The most important figure from English legacy is, incredibly, for me, a teenager by the name of Mary Shelley, and she has remained a figure as important in my life as if she were family”.†
Visit our collections
The Library's wide range of Rare Books and Special Collections are available for University of Sydney academics and students to view, research and teach with. If you have an enquiry, please contact:
cultural.collections@usyd.libanswers.com.
We also welcome the public to view and study our collections. You will need to register for a free Rare Books and Special Collections Community ID and visit during our Rare Books and Special Collections Reading Room opening hours. Find out more about viewing items from special collections.
If you are unable to visit our collections in-person, you can also book a Virtual Reading Room session, or explore thousands of digitised photos, illustrations, documents, magazines and more on our Digital Collections website and our Google Arts & Culture page.
* Quote from Mary Shelley’s preface to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein.
† Quote from "Guillermo del Toro Is Bringing Frankenstein to Life in November" [source].
