Frankenstein

Exam board: AQA, Edexcel; Edexcel
Level & Subject: GCSE English Literature; A Level English Literature
Next exam: June 2026
This edition of Frankenstein is perfect for GCSE-level students: it comes complete with the novel, plus an introduction providing context, and a glossary explaining key terms.
'It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.'
Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist with huge ambition, exceeds his own expectations when he manages to create life from an assemblage of dead body parts. Yet he has failed to think through the consequences and responsibilities of his action, with fatal results.
First published in 1818, this genre-defying novel - part gothic tale, part science fiction, part philosophical exploration - invites us to consider whom we sympathise with: the scientist playing God or the monstrous creature he has created.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in 1797. Her mother was the famous feminist philosopher, Mary Wollstonecraft, and through her parents she moved in the intellectual and literary circles of her time. She was a prolific writer, well-remembered today through the legacy of her Gothic novel, Frankenstein, widely considered the first of its genre.