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This is a talk I gave at a bookstore in Western Maryland in October 2025 discussing the world in which Mary Shelley was living when she wrote Frankenstein. 

Pick up my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: https://www.vollrathpublishing.com

At 3:36 I reversed the names of the Islands of St. Helena and Elba; Napoleon was of course first imprisoned on Elba, then St. Helena.

00:00 Intro

00:40 The French Revolution, The Napoleonic Wars, And Mary's Parents

04:51 The Industrial Revolution And Science Fiction

11:49 Mary's Influences And Education

14:50 Mary's Elopement With Percy 

17:15 The Mt. Tambora Eruption

19:28 Bringing It All Together

20:50 Reading German Ghost Stories In A Mansion Overlooking Lake Geneva

22:36 Did Mary Really Write A Short Story At The Villa Diodati?

25:37 Artificial Intelligence And Creating Consciousness – The Relevance Of Frankenstein Today

26:57 Closing