To celebrate Frankenstein's 200th anniversary, this engrossing book delves into the world of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century science through the prism of Mary Shelley's seminal novel. In riveting detail, it explores how the monster was conceived, the real-life basis for Victor Frankenstein, which experiments might have led to the Creature's birth, various incarnations and interpretations of both the monster and the "mad scientist," and many other fascinating insights.