Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's own hand

The Frankenstein manuscripts in Mary Shelley's own hand.

By MITH, Bodleian, NYPL and partnersFree to visitA Starvard Treasure

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in notebooks, crossing out words and squeezing in new ones as she went. This archive puts those pages online, with a typed version beside each one so you can follow along.

You can even spot where Percy Shelley suggested changes. Seeing a famous book still being written makes it feel human and close.

Shelley-Godwin Archiveshelleygodwinarchive.orgThe Frankenstein manuscripts in Mary Shelley's own hand.Visit Shelley-Godwin Archive ↗

Try this first

Open the Frankenstein notebooks and choose a page full of crossings out, then read the typed version beside it to see what changed. Watch for Percy Shelley's suggestions in the margins.

Good to know

A partnership of MITH at the University of Maryland, the Bodleian Libraries and the New York Public Library. Material is CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, so we link rather than copy.

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