Ep. 396 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley — The Stacks Book Club (Angela Flournoy)

The Stacks

Traci Thomas

Literature, Society & Culture, Books, Arts

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2025

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It is The Stacks Book Club day, and author Angela Flournoy is back to discuss Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. First published in 1818 and revised in 1831, this Gothic classic tells the tale of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who brings a monstrous creature to life, triggering a series of disastrous consequences. In our conversation, we explore our perceptions of Frankenstein’s monster, the significance of the nesting doll story structure, the book's ghost-story origins, and the novel's evolution from 1818 to 1831.

There are spoilers in this episode.

Listen to the end of today's episode to find out what our November Book Club pick will be!

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/10/29/ep-396-frankenstein

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Transcript

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0:00.0	one of the reasons, in addition to like the sort of philosophical applications, the reason why the text is endured, is that also people have been just as immediately repulsed and grossed out and freaked out by the concept of this creation for 200 years, right?
0:16.5	Like they have immediately decided, we're going to dress up like that for Halloween.
0:20.7	Even though if you read the text, the point is not the grotesque, they are going to have the victor stands from the beginning, right?
0:27.7	Like they're going to be on Team Frankenstein, meaning this guy is gross.
0:31.3	I don't want him from the beginning.
0:33.1	That has also been a thing that's sort of shocked and titillated readers, even though the book is arguing, like, that ain't his fault.
0:40.5	You know, it's not his fault. He's disgusting.
0:48.8	Welcome to the Stacks, a podcast about books and the people who read them.
0:51.9	I'm your host, Tracy Thomas, and today we are finally doing it. We are giving you a spooky season edition of the Stacks Book Club. I am joined by
0:59.8	author Angela Flournoy, who is back on the podcast to discuss our October book club pick,
1:05.9	Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The book was first published in 1818, and this Gothic classic tells the tale of
1:12.5	Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who brings a monstrous creation to life, which leads to
1:18.1	disastrous consequences. Today we talk about Frankenstein's allegory, whose side we were on,
1:24.1	and the story of Mary Shelley and how this book came to be. There are spoilers in today's
1:29.6	episode. Be sure to stay tuned to the end of our conversation to find out what our November
1:34.1	book club pick will be. Everything we talk about on each episode of the Stacks can be found in the
1:39.0	link in the show notes. And if you like this podcast, if you want more bookish content and
1:42.9	community, consider joining
1:44.2	the stacks pack on Patreon and subscribing to my newsletter unstacked over on Substack.
1:49.2	Each place offers you unique perks like community conversation, virtual book club, and a whole
1:53.7	lot of hot takes. Plus, you get to know by joining you make it possible for me to make this show
1:58.5	every single week. Head to patreon.com slash the stacks to join
	...

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