Famously written by 18-year-old Mary Shelley in a villa in Switzerland during the sepulchral summer of 1816, Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus drew on key ideas and developments of its age, including new discoveries about electricity and oxygen and techniques for reviving people on the brink of death. The novel captivated audiences by tapping into the unease such innovations provoked, and this lively history explores what that fascination tells us about the era – and why the story is still compelling today.