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Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Author Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson
Introduction by Stephen King
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Mass Market Paperback
$8.95 US
Berkley / NAL | Signet
On sale Dec 01, 1978 | 736 Pages | 9780451523631
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Three horror icons come together in one indispensable tome—with an introduction by Stephen King.

“Within the pages of this volume you will come upon three of the darkest creations of English nineteenth-century literature; three of the darkest in all of English and American literature, many would say…and not without justification…These three creatures, presented together for the first time, all have a great deal in common beyond their power to go on frightening generation after generation of readers…but that fact alone should be considered before all others.”—From the Introduction by Stephen King

A diabolical, bloodthirsty Count draws an unsuspecting young man into a world of terrors. A scientist oversteps the bounds of conscience and brings to life a tortured creation. A man of medicine explores his darker side only to fall prey to it. These three legendary tales have held readers spellbound for more than a century. 

The titles alone—Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—have become synonymous with horror. They are part of a universal language that serves to put a monster’s face on the good-and-evil duality of our very human nature. Inventive and subversive, these classic tales of terror can shake even the modern reader with something far more profound than fear....
Mary Shelley was born in London in 1797, daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, famous radical writers of the day. Mary’s mother died tragically ten days after the birth. Under Godwin’s conscientious and expert tuition, Mary’s was an intellectually stimulating childhood, though she often felt misunderstood by her stepmother and neglected by her father. In 1814 she met and soon fell in love with the then unknown Percy Bysshe Shelley, and in July they eloped to the Continent. In December 1816, after Shelley’s first wife, Harriet, committed suicide, Mary and Percy married. Of the four children she bore Shelley, only Percy Florence survived. They lived in Italy from 1818 until 1822, when Shelley drowned following the sinking of his boat Ariel in a storm. Mary returned with Percy Florence to London, where she continued to live as a professional writer until her death in 1851.
The idea for Frankenstein came to Mary Godwin during a summer sojourn in 1816 with Percy Shelley on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Lord Byron was also staying. She was inspired to begin her unique tale after Byron suggested a ghost story competition. Byron himself produced “A Fragment,” which later inspired his physician John Polidori to write The Vampyre. Mary completed her short story back in England, and it was published as Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in 1818. Among her other novels are The Last Man (1826), a dystopian story set in the twenty-first century, The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837). As well as contributing many stories and essays to publications such as the Keepsake and the Westminster Review, she wrote numerous biographical essays for Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia (1835, 1838–39). Her other books include the first collected edition of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Poetical Works (4 vols., 1839) and a book based on the Continental travels she undertook with her son Percy Florence and his friends, Rambles in Germany and Italy (1844). Mary Shelley died in London on February 1, 1851. View titles by Mary Shelley
Bram Stoker (1847–1912) was born in Dublin, Ireland. He began his career as a theater critic before becoming manager of London’s Lyceum Theatre. Dracula was Stoker’s fourth novel; he went on to write many more, including The Lady of the Shroud and The Lair of the White Worm. View titles by Bram Stoker
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer who spent the last part of his life in the Samoan islands. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Master of Ballantrae, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. View titles by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Three horror icons come together in one indispensable tome—with an introduction by Stephen King.

“Within the pages of this volume you will come upon three of the darkest creations of English nineteenth-century literature; three of the darkest in all of English and American literature, many would say…and not without justification…These three creatures, presented together for the first time, all have a great deal in common beyond their power to go on frightening generation after generation of readers…but that fact alone should be considered before all others.”—From the Introduction by Stephen King

A diabolical, bloodthirsty Count draws an unsuspecting young man into a world of terrors. A scientist oversteps the bounds of conscience and brings to life a tortured creation. A man of medicine explores his darker side only to fall prey to it. These three legendary tales have held readers spellbound for more than a century. 

The titles alone—Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—have become synonymous with horror. They are part of a universal language that serves to put a monster’s face on the good-and-evil duality of our very human nature. Inventive and subversive, these classic tales of terror can shake even the modern reader with something far more profound than fear....

Author

Mary Shelley was born in London in 1797, daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, famous radical writers of the day. Mary’s mother died tragically ten days after the birth. Under Godwin’s conscientious and expert tuition, Mary’s was an intellectually stimulating childhood, though she often felt misunderstood by her stepmother and neglected by her father. In 1814 she met and soon fell in love with the then unknown Percy Bysshe Shelley, and in July they eloped to the Continent. In December 1816, after Shelley’s first wife, Harriet, committed suicide, Mary and Percy married. Of the four children she bore Shelley, only Percy Florence survived. They lived in Italy from 1818 until 1822, when Shelley drowned following the sinking of his boat Ariel in a storm. Mary returned with Percy Florence to London, where she continued to live as a professional writer until her death in 1851.
The idea for Frankenstein came to Mary Godwin during a summer sojourn in 1816 with Percy Shelley on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Lord Byron was also staying. She was inspired to begin her unique tale after Byron suggested a ghost story competition. Byron himself produced “A Fragment,” which later inspired his physician John Polidori to write The Vampyre. Mary completed her short story back in England, and it was published as Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in 1818. Among her other novels are The Last Man (1826), a dystopian story set in the twenty-first century, The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837). As well as contributing many stories and essays to publications such as the Keepsake and the Westminster Review, she wrote numerous biographical essays for Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia (1835, 1838–39). Her other books include the first collected edition of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Poetical Works (4 vols., 1839) and a book based on the Continental travels she undertook with her son Percy Florence and his friends, Rambles in Germany and Italy (1844). Mary Shelley died in London on February 1, 1851. View titles by Mary Shelley
Bram Stoker (1847–1912) was born in Dublin, Ireland. He began his career as a theater critic before becoming manager of London’s Lyceum Theatre. Dracula was Stoker’s fourth novel; he went on to write many more, including The Lady of the Shroud and The Lair of the White Worm. View titles by Bram Stoker
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer who spent the last part of his life in the Samoan islands. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Master of Ballantrae, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. View titles by Robert Louis Stevenson

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