Pre-reading research:
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
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MARY SHELLEY
When was she born?
When did she die?
Who was her father?
What was his occupation?
Who was her mother?
What is Mary Shelley’s mother still known for?
How and when did Mary Shelley’s mother die?
Who did Mary Shelley marry?
How old was Mary Shelley when she eloped with her lover?
Why did the couple have to elope?
Where did they elope to and who did they live near?
Her husband was an important figure in his own right. Why?
How many children did the couple have?
Mary Shelley had a dream shortly after the death of her first child. What was it about?
How did her husband die? How old was he?
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THE NOVEL
What genre of novel is Frankenstein?
List three other examples of novels written in this genre.
Frankenstein is written in the epistolary form. What does this mean?
Frankenstein’s subtitle is ‘The Modern Prometheus’. Who was Prometheus?
Why do you think Mary Shelley used this as a subtitle?
How old was Mary Shelley when she began writing Frankenstein? How old was she when
she completed it?
Why did Mary Shelley originally begin writing Frankenstein?
List some of the main concerns of the Romantic literary circle in the early 19th century.
Who did many people think had written Frankenstein when it was first published?
What is the name of the narrator of the novel?
SOCIAL BACKGROUND TO FRANKENSTEIN
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Why are the experiments Dr. James Lind did on frogs important to the novel?
How was Mary Shelley directly linked to Dr. Lind?
What status did women have during the time Mary Shelley wrote her novel?
Humphrey Davy was an influential and radical scientist at the time. What kind of
experiments did he conduct and what did he believe that chemistry would enable?
USEFUL WEBSITES
As well as using search engines such as www.google.co.uk, try
looking at the following websites for help with locating the
answers:
 www.bbc.co.uk/arts/books/author/shelley
 www.stockportmbc.gov.uk/6thform/shelley
 www.4iq.com/franklinks
 www.topgrades.co.uk/frankenstein/
MARY SHELLEY
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