The world's most famous work of horror fiction: a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read.

Mary Shelley's timeless Gothic novel presents the epic battle between man and monster at its most powerful. In his attempt to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting in motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings him to the brink of madness.

As Victor tries to destroy his creation, the creature destroys everything Victor loves. What follows is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific ambition, and horror.

Based on the third edition of 1831, this Penguin Classics edition, with an introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle, includes all the revisions Mary Shelley made to her story, along with her 1831 introduction and Percy Bysshe Shelley's preface to the first edition. The appendices also feature a selection of differences between the 1818 and 1831 texts, together with Lord Byron's A Fragment and Dr John Polidori's The Vampyre: A Tale.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been a leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics offers a global collection of outstanding works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series for its authoritative texts, enriched by introductions and notes from distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.