Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Harkup, Kathryn
Titre(s) : Making the monster [Texte imprimé] : the science behind Mary Shelley's Frankenstein / Kathryn Harkup
Publication : London : Bloomsbury, 2018
Description matérielle : 1 vol. (304 p.) : ill. ; 23 cm
Collection : Bloomsbury Sigma series ; book 31
Lien à la collection : Bloomsbury sigma series
Note(s) : Bibliogr. p. 287-296. Index
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 of 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 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,
save lives using blood transfusions, and 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
tantalizingly close
Sujet(s) : Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (1797-1851) -- Savoir et érudition -- Sciences
Littérature et sciences -- Grande-Bretagne -- 19e siècle
Sciences -- Dans la littérature
Indice(s) Dewey : 823.7 (23e éd.) =
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9781472933737. - ISBN 1472933737 (rel.). - ISBN 9781472933751 (erroné). - ISBN 1472933753 (erroné)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb455555688
Notice n° :
FRBNF45555568
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
Table des matières : Part 1. Conception: Enlightenment ; Development ; Elopement ; Nascent ; Part 2. Creation: Education ; Inspiration ; Collection ; Preservation ; Construction ; Electrification ; Reanimation ; Part 3. Birth: Life ; Death ; Epilogue ; Appendix: Timeline of events.
