This is a talk I gave at a bookstore in Western Maryland in October 2025 discussing the world in which Mary Shelley was living when she wrote Frankenstein.
Pick up my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: https://www.vollrathpublishing.com
At 3:36 I reversed the names of the Islands of St. Helena and Elba; Napoleon was of course first imprisoned on Elba, then St. Helena.
00:00 Intro
00:40 The French Revolution, The Napoleonic Wars, And Mary's Parents
04:51 The Industrial Revolution And Science Fiction
11:49 Mary's Influences And Education
14:50 Mary's Elopement With Percy
17:15 The Mt. Tambora Eruption
19:28 Bringing It All Together
20:50 Reading German Ghost Stories In A Mansion Overlooking Lake Geneva
22:36 Did Mary Really Write A Short Story At The Villa Diodati?
25:37 Artificial Intelligence And Creating Consciousness – The Relevance Of Frankenstein Today
26:57 Closing
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