Frankenstein

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2020

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In a programme first broadcast in May 2019, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Mary Shelley's (1797-1851) Gothic story of a Swiss natural philosopher, Victor Frankenstein, and the creature he makes from parts of cadavers and which he then abandons, horrified by his appearance, and never names. Rejected by all humans who see him, the monster takes his revenge on Frankenstein, killing those dear to him. Shelley started writing Frankenstein when she was 18, prompted by a competition she had with Byron and her husband Percy Shelley to tell a ghost story while they were rained in in the summer of 1816 at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva. The image of Mary Shelley, above, was first exhibited in 1840. With Karen O'Brien Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford Michael Rossington Professor of Romantic Literature at Newcastle University And Jane Thomas Professor of Victorian and Early 20th Century Literature at the University of Hull Producer: Simon Tillotson This programme is a repeat

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:04.8	Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:07.4	There's a reading list to go with it on our website,
0:09.5	and you can get news about our programs if you follow us on Twitter
0:12.9	at BBC In Our Time.
0:14.8	I hope you enjoyed the programs.
0:17.6	Hello, in 1816, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron
0:21.1	had a competition to write a ghost story,
0:23.5	to pass the time on a cold, dark, wet holiday
0:26.2	on the shores of Lake Geneva.
0:28.3	She came up with Victor Frankenstein, a scientist
0:31.0	who built a larger-than-life human monster
0:33.3	only to reject his creature once it stirred
0:35.7	and stretches out towards him suddenly hideous.
0:39.1	The monster's hopes for friendship and family are thwarted
0:41.8	and his revenge for that is murderous and thorough.
0:45.4	With me to discuss Mary Shelley's Frankenstein art,
0:48.2	Michael Rosiceton, Professor of Romantic Literature
0:50.6	in Newcastle University, Jane Thomas,
0:52.9	Professor of Victorian and early 20th Century Literature,
0:55.6	the University of Hol, and Karen O'Brien,
0:57.9	Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.