Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley wrote Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus when she was nineteen years old on a bet. It is the first science fiction novel spawning two centuries of creatures that turn against their makers. I spoke with Julie Carlson, the author of a gripping biography of Mary Shelley's family about what it means that a woman wrote the first science fiction novel, and why the book and the "daemon" Shelley imagined proves so powerful 200 years after its invention.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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