FrankensteinFrankenstein
Score Classic
What it's about
Victor Frankenstein, a young Swiss scientist, discovers how to bring dead matter to life, and builds a creature from parts of corpses. Horrified by what he's made, he abandons it. The creature, intelligent and lonely, teaches itself to speak and read, and when humans reject it again and again, it turns its rage on its creator and everyone he loves.
Why it's worth reading
It was voted onto both PBS's Great American Read and the BBC's Big Read. Mary Shelley wrote it at eighteen, and it's often called the first science fiction novel.
You'll love it if you liked
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Tales of Edgar Allan Poe
Never Let Me GoGood to know
The creature is articulate and sympathetic, very different from the films. It's told in nested letters and stories.
By the numbers
- Readers31 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics51 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller65 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #25 of the 86 horror books we rank
- #118 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #366 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1248 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Dark, Gripping, Adventurous
If you like this, read next
Swan Song
Watchers
The Gunslinger
I Am Legend
The Institute
The RoadExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Frankenstein worth reading?
Yes. It was voted onto both PBS's Great American Read and the BBC's Big Read. It ranks #1,248 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 70.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Frankenstein about?
Victor Frankenstein, a young Swiss scientist, discovers how to bring dead matter to life, and builds a creature from parts of corpses. Horrified by what he's made, he abandons it. The creature, intelligent and lonely, teaches itself to speak and read, and when humans reject it again and again, it turns its rage on its creator and everyone he loves.
How long does it take to read Frankenstein?
About 9 hours (352 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Frankenstein?
If you liked it, try The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Tales of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe or Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.