Comic books, or graphic novels, are often associated with the Belgium of Tintin, the America of the superheros, or the Japan of manga and animé.

But the art form was actually invented in Geneva, almost 200 years ago.

In this episode we explore the life and legacy of Rodolph Toeppfer, whose work was championed by Goethe and is now acknowledged as the origin of la bande dessinée.

abookaplace.com

Part history podcast, part travel guide, ‘A Book – A Place: Geneva’ brings you the surprising places and stories that changed Geneva and the world.

In this episode: the surprising history of comic books - not invented in New York, Brussels or Tokyo, but in Geneva - 200 years ago.

Visit: abookaplace.com (https://abookaplace.com)

Part book club, part travel guide, part history podcast, Season 1 of A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you on five literary adventures.

Episode 1: Frankenstein: a monster is born on the shore of Lake Geneva

The book: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelly, published in 1818

The place:  ‘Frankie’ a.k.a ‘The Creature of Doctor Frankenstein’ statue in Plainpalais, Geneva by KLAT, 2014

Everyone knows something about Frankenstein, the archetype horror movie monster.

But what about the birth of the story, which is now seen as perhaps the first horror novel, the first work of what would become known as science fiction, and, for today’s readers, still one of the most thought provoking tales about artificial intelligence.

As we’ll hear, Frankenstein was born, not in a mad scientist’s laboratory, but in a genteel villa on the outskirts of genteel Geneva.

More books:

• Mary, or the Birth of Frankenstein, by Anne Eekhout, 2023, novel mentioned in the podcast
• Le Genève de Victor Frankenstein, by Augusta Dunsterville, 2016: good guide for walking tours around places linked to Frankenstein
• All the Parts of the Soul, Quill & Crow, 2023, novel by Catherine Fearns, who features in the podcast
• History of a Six Weeks’ Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland, 1817, memoir by Mary and Percy Shelley

More places:

• Villa Diodati, where Byron and his retinue stayed in 1816
• Byron’s Field (Le Pré Byron), next to Villa Diodati
• Le Salève, (mountain that overlooks Geneva, accessible by cable car)
• Chamonix, ‘capital city of the French Alps’, where Victor meets the monster

Even more…

• Penguin Random House page on Frankenstein
• Lake Geneva as Shelley and Byron Knew It – New York Times
• ‘Frankenstein’ Was Born During a Ghastly Vacation – History.com
• In the footsteps of the Shelleys: Switzerland and Mont Blanc – Wordsworth.org
• Ghost stories, opium and rain: the doomed holiday that inspired Shelley’s Frankenstein – Penguin
• Bright city, dark legend: how Geneva gave birth to Frankenstein – FLUX magazine

Find out more at abookaplace.com and get the podcast on any app via this link: https://pod.link/nLARmR

Everyone knows something about Frankenstein, the archetype horror movie monster.

But what about the birth of the story, which is now seen as perhaps the first horror novel, the first work of what would become known as science fiction, and, for today’s readers, still one of the most thought provoking tales about artificial intelligence?

As we’ll hear, Frankenstein was born, not in a mad scientist’s laboratory, but in a genteel villa on the outskirts of genteel Geneva.

This is a trailer for Episode 1 of A Book - A Place: Geneva, part travel guide, part book club, part history podcast. Find out more at abookaplace.com

Part history podcast, part travel guide, ‘A Book – A Place: Geneva’ brings you the surprising places and stories that changed Geneva and the world.

In this episode: we all know something about Frankenstein - but do you know the amazing story of its birth in Geneva?

Visit: abookaplace.com

Part history podcast, part travel guide, always a great story.

A Book - A Place: Geneva takes you to unexpected places in an often overlooked city that has a unique place in history.

Frankenstein and comic books were born here. Revolutionaries plotted. An enlightenment superstar had good reason to have houses in and just outside Geneva. And science fiction fans became real scientists at the home of the world's greatest science experiment here.

Whether you're a visitor, a newcomer, or a long-time resident, this podcast will take you to corners of the city where history was (and is still being) made.

More info at abookaplace.com

Part history podcast, part travel guide, ‘A Book – A Place: Geneva’ brings you the surprising places and stories that changed Geneva and the world.

In this episode: the surprising history of comic books - not invented in New York, Brussels or Tokyo, but in Geneva - 200 years ago.

Visit: abookaplace.com