Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus

　　在一個鬧鬼的夏天，暴風雨在眨眼間遍布整個天際，科學家維多．法蘭根斯坦在月亮凝望墓穴的日子，翻動生命的碎片，喚醒神祕不馴的怪物。一連串不幸的故事；一場追逐到天涯海角的復仇之欲—

　　「我把一個以殘殺不幸為樂的邪惡怪物縱放到人世間。
　　他簡直就像我自己的吸血鬼，就像我自己的鬼魂從墳墓中被釋放出來，去摧毀我所珍愛的一切。」

　　「我應是你的亞當，但我卻是個墮落的天使，沒有犯錯卻被你剝奪了喜悅，……我本善良，悲傷使我變成惡魔。
　　復仇將比光熱或食物更珍貴。」

　 　科學家維多．法蘭根斯坦決定要跨入上帝的領域，靠科學的力量創造出生命體—    一個完美的人。於是他從墳場挖出屍塊，選出還能使用的部分拼成人型，賦予其生命。但不久他便發現，他只是製造了一個怪物。法蘭根斯坦試圖抹殺這場嚴重的錯 誤，為求生存，怪物展開了逃亡，一場充滿背叛、悲傷與復仇的追逐之旅就此展開。

　　本書中譯本<<科學怪人>>由台灣商務出版

　　Frankenstein is the most famous novel by Mary Shelley: a dark parable of science misused. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but wayward scientist, builds a human from dead flesh. Horrified at what he has done, he abandons his creation. The hideous creature learns language and becomes civilized but society rejects him. Spurned, he seeks vengeance on his creator. So begins a cycle of destruction, with Frankenstein and his 'monster' pursuing each other to the extremes of nature until all vestiges of their humanity are lost. In 1831, Mary Shelley succumbed to conservative pressures and toned down elements of the work. The novel is presented here in its original form and with an afterword by David Pinching.

　　Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

瑪麗．雪萊 Mary Shelley（1797-1851）

　　英國作家，十九世紀上半期浪漫主義派詩人波西．比希‧雪萊(Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792—1822)的第二任妻子。

　 　原名瑪麗．戈德溫(Mary Godwin)，是英國哲學家威廉．戈德溫(William Godwin，1756一1836)、女權作家瑪麗．渥爾史東卡夫特（Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759一1797）的女兒。她於1814年與雪萊陷入熱戀，在母親瑪麗．渥爾史東卡夫特的墓園裡祕密約會，同年7月，隨同雪萊遊歷歐洲大陸，在旅遊期 間，兩人在共有的日記上執筆彼此的生活感想，並且開展長達一生的閱讀與寫作計畫，在日後的每一個昏晨，堅持閱讀與寫作。1816年，雪萊第一任妻子投湖自 盡後，兩人結婚。《法蘭根斯坦》（中譯本為《科學怪人》）完成於1818年，是英國文學史上最早的科幻小說之一。之後，瑪麗．雪萊陸續創作作品：《瑪蒂 達》（Mathilda, 1819）、《最後一人》（The Last Man, 1826)、《永生者》（Folker, 1837）等。

　　1822年，雪萊搭乘「唐璜號」航行，途中遭遇暴風雨而亡，1823年，瑪麗．雪萊返回英國，投注心力於編輯雪萊的詩集、書信集、散文和其他作品集。

　　Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born in 1797, the daughter of two leading radical writers. Her mother died just days after her birth and Mary was educated at home by her father and encouraged in literary pursuits. She eloped with and subsequently married the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, but their life together was full of hardship.

　　The couple were ruined by disapproving parents and Mary lost three of her four children. Although its subject matter was extremely dark, her first novel Frankenstein (1818) was an instant sensation. Subsequent works such as Mathilda(1819) and The Last Man (1826) were less successful but are now finally receiving the critical acclaim they deserve.