Table of Contents

Introduction: Romanticism in Science - the creativity and genius of the age • Man or beast: the place of man in nature • Chemical revolution: getting high and losing your head • Electric fluids and animal spirits: Galvanism, voltaic piles, electrochemistry and the start of a new era • The spark of life: the vitalism debate and reanimation • Mesmerism, hypnosis, phrenology and the dawn of psychology • Operating Theatre Live: contemporary surgical procedures • Raised from the dead • Bodysnatchers: spare parts and dissections • To the ends of the Earth: polar exploration and the frozen wastes • The party at the lake: genesis of horror • Tracking down the real Frankenstein • The creature and the soul: identity, mind and body • Frankenstein's monster in popular culture • The ultimate mad scientist: Frankenstein as archetype • Reanimation and future science.

Promotional Information

This book reveals the unorthodox and groundbreaking science that inspired the novel and offers an in-depth insight into the creativity and genius of the age.

About the Author

Joel Levy is a writer and journalist specialising in science, nature and technology for younger audiences. His writing explores both mainstream science and weird technology, from chemistry and physics to death-rays and biomimetic robots. After taking degrees in molecular biology and psychology at Warwick and Edinburgh, he has gone on to write books including Really Useful, the science and history of everyday technology; Poison: A Social history, on the science and lore of poisons; Newton's Notebooks, on the life and discoveries of Isaac Newton; Phobiapedia, an encyclopaedia of the things that scare us most; and A Bee in a Cathedral, exploring analogies and thought experiments in science, nature and technology.

Reviews

'A celebration of an enduring classic ... [An] entertaining analysis ... Presents the novel as a portrayal of high-Romantic 'gonzo science' and science fiction' Nature.

'Levy brings the discussion up to date ... Valuable for any Frankenfan ... Deepens your understanding of a book that remains essential reading' Fortean Times.