Making the Monster: The Science Behind Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - Brossura

Harkup, Kathryn

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1472933761 ISBN 13: 9781472933768

Casa editrice: Bloomsbury Sigma, 2019

Riassunto

A thrilling and gruesome look at the science that influenced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Informazioni sull?autore

Kathryn Harkup is a former chemist turned author. She writes and gives regular public talks on the disgusting and dangerous side of science. Her first book was the international best-seller A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, which was shortlisted for a Mystery Readers International Macavity Award and a BMA Book Award. Her subsequent books include its follow-up, V is for Venom, Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and Death by Shakespeare.

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The year 1818 saw the publication of one of the most influential science-fiction stories of all time. Frankenstein: Or, Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley had a huge impact on gothic horror and science fiction genres. The name Frankenstein has become part of our everyday language, often used in derogatory terms to describe scientists who have overstepped a perceived moral line. But how did a 19-year-old woman with no formal education come up with the idea for an extraordinary novel such as Frankenstein? The period 1790–1820 saw huge advances in our understanding of electricity and physiology. Sensational science demonstrations caught the imagination of the general public, and newspapers were full of lurid tales of murderers and resurrectionists.

It is unlikely that Frankenstein would have been successful in his attempts to create life back in 1818. However, advances in medical science mean we have overcome many of the stumbling blocks that would have thwarted his ambition. We can resuscitate people using defibrillators, we can save lives using blood transfusions, and we can prolong life through organ transplants – these procedures are nowadays considered almost routine. Many of these modern achievements are a direct result of 19th century scientists conducting their gruesome experiments on the dead.

Making the Monster explores the science behind Shelley's book. From tales of reanimated zombie kittens to electrical experiments on human cadavers, Kathryn Harkup examines the science and scientists that influenced Mary Shelley and inspired her most famous creation, Victor Frankenstein. While, thankfully, we are still far from being able to recreate Victor's 'creature', scientists have tried to create the building blocks of life, and the dream of creating life-forms from scratch is now tantalisingly close.

Dettagli dell?edizione

• Editore: Bloomsbury Sigma
• Data di pubblicazione: 2019
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1472933761
• ISBN 13: 9781472933768
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 304
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile