New arrivals! Including this first illustrated edition of #frankenstein, the third edition overall, in the original boards. London: Colburn and Bentley, 1831. An attractive and sturdy set, without any repair, and an important and early edition of one of the greatest works of 19th century literature. For this 1831 edition of Frankenstein, published after the 1818 and 1823 editions, Mary Shelley heavily revised the text, softening some of the more radical elements of the novel, and emphasizing fatalism as a guiding principle for the actions of her characters rather than free will. It has been theorized that the latter change was made in response to a series of tragic deaths of Shelley's family members and friends in the years between 1818 and 1831 that gave her a more pessimistic view of the universe and its uncontrollable forces. This edition's revised text is the most popular and widely read version of the story today. Shelley also added an introduction, in which she describes how the story of Frankenstein came to be, and removed the Paradise Lost epitaph that was on the title page of the 1818 edition: "Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay / To mould me man? Did I solicit thee / From darkness to promote me?" This edition of Frankenstein, the first to be illustrated, includes two scenes by British literary painter Theodor von Holst, one of which captures the dramatic moment when Frankenstein's monster awakens from death. #maryshelley #originalboards #gothicfiction #firstedition #rarebooks #englishliterature (at Madison Avenue/33rd Street, Downtown Manhattan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbdZSTIpmDt/?utm_medium=tumblr
