Frankenstein
British novelist, 1797–1851.
Frankenstein is an 1818 novel by Mary Shelley.
On 9 of the 13 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Mary Shelley
- First published
- 1818
- Length
- 208 pages (UK paperback)
- Genre
- Gothic and horror, Speculative, Told in letters
Is Frankenstein worth reading?
9 of the 13 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture) and 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.co.uk, 2014) | Listed | See the list |
| 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009) | No. 27 | See the list |
| 100 novels that shaped our world (BBC Arts, 2019) | Listed | See the list |
| Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 39 | See the list |
| The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 30 | See the list |
| The 100 best novels written in English (The Guardian / Observer, 2015) | Listed | See the list |
| The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture, 2015) | No. 9 | See the list |
| The 100 greatest novels of all time (The Observer, 2003) | Listed | See the list |
| The Great American Read (PBS, 2018) | Listed | See the list |
Best edition of Frankenstein
The edition we link to is the Wordsworth Editions paperback (1993), 208 pages.
- Publisher
- Wordsworth Editions (paperback, 1993)
- Pages
- 208
- ISBN
- 9781853260230
How critics and readers rate Frankenstein
Critics rate it most highly: it earned 80% of the points available on critics' lists, against 49% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like Frankenstein
If you liked Frankenstein, try Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre or The Moonstone.
