This year marks the bicentenary of Mary Shelleys horror novel Frankenstein. Amanda Hodges explores its Sussex connections.
“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.”
These were the first words that Mary Shelley (in the fictional guise of Victor Frankenstein) recollected committing to paper when remembering the genesis of her ground-breaking novel Frankenstein, first published 200 years ago in 1818. Not only was it then highly unusual for a woman to write fiction but Mary’s novel would prove revolutionary within its gothic horror genre, fostering the literary cult of the mad scientist intent upon uncovering what Victor calls “the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life”.
The daughter of famous parents, novelist and political philosopher William Godwin and pioneering feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary had always been encouraged to think independently and knew from an early age that she wished to write. Highly intelligent, forthright and perceptive, she seemed destined for a remarkable life and this she would certainly have, albeit one tinged with frequent tragedy and considerable hardship as well as romantic intensity.
Denne historien er fra October 2018-utgaven av Sussex Life.
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Denne historien er fra October 2018-utgaven av Sussex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TAKE YOUR TIME
Dean Edwards’ new cookbook features delectable recipes that you can slow cook or stick in the oven. Here’s a selection of the best
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ON THE FRONT FOOT
The rugby legend took the reins at Sussex County Cricket Club in 2017, rekindling his love for a sport that first won his heart on the village cricket fields of North Yorkshire
NAKED AMBITION
In the 1980s, Christine and Jennifer Binnie partied with Boy George and Marilyn and bared all as performance art collective The Neo-Naturists. Now they are working together to gain the recognition they feel they deserve
ROCKET MAN
Astronaut Tim Peake has come a long way since growing up in Westbourne and attending Chichester High School for Boys: 248 miles above Earth, to be precise. But, he says, life on the International Space Station has a lot in common with family caravanning holidays
Revolution man
Lewes’ most famous resident Thomas Paine may be the greatest propagandist who ever lived. But how did a humble customs and excise officer ignite the touchpaper for revolution in not one but two countries?
THE DIARY
17 exciting things to do this month in East and West Sussex
All in a day's work
Meet Tim Dummer, who has helped keep Midhurst’s Cowdray Estate shipshape for an impressive five decades
My favourite Sussex
Bruce Fogle is an author and a vet with a practice in London who has lived in West Sussex with his wife, the actress Julia Foster, since 1989. He recently became president of RSPCA Mount Noddy near Chichester
10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove
Brighton is often rated one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK. What these restaurants prove is that plant-based food doesn’t have to be puritanical – at all of these places you’ll find big flavours and a desire to push the envelope
