Fiction and the Fantastic: ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley

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Close Readings

London Review of Books

161 episodes

4 days ago

Close Readings is a new multi-series podcast subscription from the London Review of Books. Two contributors explore areas of literature through a selection of key works, providing an introductory grounding like no other. Listen to some episodes for free here, and extracts from our ongoing subscriber-only series. How To Subscribe In Apple Podcasts, click 'subscribe' at the top of this podcast feed to unlock the full episodes. Or for other podcast apps, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadings RUNNING IN 2025: 'Conversations in Philosophy' with Jonathan Rée and James Wood 'Fiction and the Fantastic' with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin, Adam Thirlwell and Chloe Aridjis 'Love and Death' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford 'Novel Approaches' with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guests ALSO INCLUDED IN THE CLOSE READINGS SUBSCRIPTION: 'Among the Ancients' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones 'Medieval Beginnings' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley 'The Long and Short' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry 'Modern-ish Poets: Series 1' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry 'Among the Ancients II' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones 'On Satire' with Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell 'Human Conditions' with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards 'Political Poems' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry 'Medieval LOLs' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Fiction and the Fantastic: ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley

Close Readings

32 minutes

3 weeks ago

Fiction and the Fantastic: ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley

Born from grief, exile, intellectual ferment and the ‘year without a summer’, Frankenstein is a creation myth with its own creation myth. Mary Shelley’s novel is a foundational work of science fiction, horror and trauma narrative, and continues to spark reinvention and reinterpretation. In their fourth conversation together, Adam Thirlwell and Marina Warner explore Shelley’s treatment of birth, death, monstrosity and the limits of science. They discuss Frankenstein’s philosophical and personal undercurrents, and how the creature and his creator have broken free from the book. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://lrb.me/applecrff⁠ In other podcast apps: ⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsff⁠ Read more in the LRB: Claire Tomalin on Mary Shelley’s letters: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v03/n03/claire-tomalin/scandal-s-hostages Caroline Gonda on the original Frankenstein: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v32/n02/caroline-gonda/ink-blots-pin-holes Marilyn Butler on Frankenstein as myth: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v10/n09/marilyn-butler/versatile-monster Anne Barton on Mary Shelley’s life: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v23/n03/anne-barton/tousy-mousy Next episode: Chloe Aridjis on the short fiction of Jorge Luis Borges.