DiscoverFrankenstein

Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley1818

Gothic horror with a thinking monster. Storm-lit, atmospheric, deeply rendered.

Victor

The

Elizabeth

Henry

Captain

Read chapter 1 below Or sign up to keep going

Chapter 1 of 24

Letter I

3 illustrated scenes · ~4 min read

You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.

I arrived here yesterday; and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my welfare, and increasing confidence in the success of my undertaking. I am already far north of London; and as I walk in the streets of Petersburgh, I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves and fills me with delight.

A ship locked in iceCaptain Walton writes from the deck of his Arctic vessel — and from the deck, sights a man pursued across the floes.

I am by birth a Genevese; and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics; and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation.

The natural phenomena that take place every day before our eyes did not escape my examinations. Distillation, and the wonderful effects of steam — processes of which my favourite authors were utterly ignorant — excited my astonishment.

A workshop of filthy creationFor two years Victor labours alone — bones, instruments, the cold lamp of midnight. The pursuit of one secret consumes him.

It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.

It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open.

The eye opensA new being draws its first breath. The maker, in horror, flees the room he can never un-enter.

How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! — Great God!

End of Chapter 1

You read chapter 1

Keep going through 23 more chapters?

Sign up to read the rest of Frankenstein with every key scene drawn and every character a consistent portrait. 10 free image credits on the house. No card, cancel anytime.

Coming up next23 chapters · 55 scenes ahead

Ch. 10
On the Mer de Glace
Across the ice, a figure of more than human stature approaches.
Ch. 16
A creature, alone
The thing learns — by firelight, by the murmur of strangers — what it has been made into.
Ch. 21
Home, and after
Geneva by lake-light: a wedding planned, and a promise threatened.