Rare first edition of ‘Frankenstein’ novel breaks world auction record

BooksFlashbackUniversal Monsters
Written By Chris Well

First in a series celebrating the many versions of Frankenstein’s Monster—and its impact on culture

Plus the surprising history behind the book’s origin (including its relationship with a historic vampire novel)

In this article:

The Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus—written by British author Mary Shelley, and published in 1818—is the story of a young scientist creating an artificial human in as part of a bizarre experiment. One of the most impactful works in the history of literature, the novel grapples with the conflict between the man and the monster.

Below, Monster Complex touches on several points about the classic work. This includes how the first edition of Frankenstein sold for a record breaking amount of money; how the original novel hits so many different themes; the surprising history behind the book’s origin (including its relationship with a historic vampire novel); and more. Read on!  

Revised March 2025

Record Breaking Auction

First edition of Frankenstein sells for record breaking $1.17m

A first edition of Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, has set a world record, selling at auction for $1,170,000. The first edition was one of 500 copies of the novel printed in 1818, and the first to be auctioned since 1985.

Christie’s, which described it as “exceptionally rare”, had initially estimated the copy would sell for between $200K and $300K. The auction house said this was a new world auction record for a printed work by a woman, with bidders participating in the auction from around the world.

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themes

How the original novel hits so many different themes

It’s crazy to think that one of the most influential and important books in all of western literature was written when the author was still a teenager. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, published in 1818, is a novel full of grief and longing and the struggle with isolation, as well as the hubris of climbing the ladder of science without regard for morality or the ramifications (and responsibility) of unexpected success, Shelley’s “Frankenstein” has survived 200 years of creative adaptations and intellectual discussions.

The version of the monster in the original novel is quite different from what we often see in adaptations—he is articulate, conflicted, and actually looks quite different than we’ve been trained to assume.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (The 1818 Text)

Mary Shelley’s classic novel, presented in its original 1818 text, with an introduction from National Book Critics Circle award-winner Charlotte Gordon

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

The original 1818 text of Frankenstein preserves the hard-hitting and politically-charged aspects of Shelley’s original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also emphasizes Shelley’s relationship with her mother—trailblazing feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, who penned A Vindication of the Rights of Woman—and demonstrates her commitment to carrying forward her mother’s ideals, placing her in the context of a feminist legacy rather than the sole female in the company of male poets, including Percy Shelley and Lord Byron.

This edition includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by National Book Critics Circle award-winner and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon, and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.

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Crash Course

[VIDEO] Frankenstein: Crash Course Literature

History of Frankenstein

History of the classic novel Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein was written to meet a challenge to “write a ghost story.” When she and a group of friends gathered at a mansion near Lake Geneva in Switzerland—a gathering that included Lord Byron, the poet Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron’s personal physician, John Polidori—inclement weather forced them to spend their holiday indoors.

In fact, 1816 was the “I.” The eruption of Indonesia's Mount Tambora filled the atmosphere with ash, causing freezing temperatures and food shortages all over the northern hemisphere.

As Mary Shelley and the others tried to make do with being stuck indoors, Percy Shelley suggested they have a contest to see who could write the best ghost story.

When Mary Shelley began work on her story, she was only 18 years old.

(Side note: The same contest also led to John Polidori’s The Vampyre, viewed by many critics as the progenitor of the romantic vampire story. In fact, there are stylistic elements of 1931's Dracula—in particular, the title bloodsucker as a charming aristocrat—that owes more to The Vampyre than to Bram Stoker’s novel.)

The novel Frankenstein has endured because it represents so much to so many. A classic of western literature, a rousing story of terror, a Gothic romance, a tragedy—it is also considered one of the first (if not the first) works of science fiction.

In the more than 200 years since its first publication, the legend of Frankenstein has been recounted, remixed, retread, and rebooted into so many formats. The monster of Frankenstein has been adapted in books, films, television, cartoons, comics, audio dramas, stage productions, theme park attractions, and more.

As the themes of the novel continue to resonate into the future, it will no doubt appear in newer and still-to-be invented formats.

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More Frankenstein on Monster Complex

Frankenstein [Full Audiobook]

Frankenstein [Full Audiobook]

Herman Munster vs Frankenstein: Will the real Frankenstein’s Monster please stand up?

Will the real Frankenstein’s Monster please stand up?

More articles online about Frankenstein

Chris Well

Chris Well been a writer pretty much his entire life. (Well, since his childhood.) Over the years, he has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio, and books. He now is the chief of the website Monster Complex, celebrating monster stories in lit and pop culture. He also writes horror comedy fiction that embraces Universal Monsters, 1960s sitcoms, 1980s action movies, and the X-Files.

https://chriswell.substack.com/
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