Frankenstein – Autumn’s Monstrous Influx

^{Sunday’s new theme – Something Literary – focuses on the classic novel Frankenstein. Frankenstein has been making appearances in my life. I didn’t know it was the two-hundred-year anniversary since Mary Shelley wrote and published  Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. but I started to see a pattern.}

^{In September, before I went to California, I received a notice from, Theatre Inconnu, a local theatre company, about a production of Frankenstein that was opening that month. A good friend and I secured tickets for when I returned. Theatre Inconnu is known for simple sets, exceptional performances and this production was true to form and worth the price of admission.} 

      

^{At the Central Coast Writer’s Conference, I attended in California, I took a workshop on researching historical fiction. The presenter, Mark Arnold was the author of a novel based on the early life of Mary Shelley for which he spent 10 years in research. I purchased his book and had a lovely chat with him, which I will discuss further in an upcoming post on that conference.} 

^{The same week I returned from California and attended the theatrical production of Frankenstein, I noticed an ad in the paper for a production of Frankenstein by our local ballet company, Ballet Victoria. I called my friend, and she was game so off I went to purchase tickets. It was a wonderful reimagining of the Frankenstein story combined with the ballet Gisselle.} 

^{Then there were the National Theatre productions of Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. The National Theatre did two versions of the production in which Cumberbatch and Miller took turns playing the creature and the doctor.  At the end of October, the cinema at our local university screened both of these productions on two consecutive nights. Several years ago, I saw a broadcast of this production with Miller playing the creature. and was excited to see the two productions back to back.  Unfortunately, due to work demands, I missed them, for which I am thoroughly disappointed. I hope for a rescreening at some point in the future.} 

^{In October, I attended a screening at the same university cinema of the movie titled Mary Shelley starring Elle Fanning as Mary. It was a very good film and told the story of her life and love with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.} 

^{The day after that screening, I attended a lecture at the University of Victoria. It consisted of a panel with four professors who discussed Mary Shelley and her influence on fiction. Shelley began an emergence of gothic horror and science fiction. The Special Collections division of the University of Victoria Library had a display of all of Mary Shelley’s works in their collection, including an original copy of Frankenstein. If I had been on the ball, I would have posted this sooner so there was time for you to see the exhibit, unfortunately, it closed on 30th November. My bad.}

^{Now all I have to do is finish the book Monster, about the early life of Mary Shelley, by M. R. (Mark) Arnold that I purchased at the writer’s conference. A review of it can be read on this blog some Sunday in the coming months.}

^{If you are a Netflix subscriber, there is a TV series titled The Frankenstein Chronicles, starring Sean Bean as a London detective around the time that Frankenstein was published. I am only a couple of episodes in, but Mary Shelley has already made an appearance.}

^{Because I haven’t, I should actually read Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley.  Reading more is my goal over Christmas this year. Maybe it will go on the stack of books that I have started for the Yuletide season. You will find a free copy on the free Open Library website here if you want to join me.}

^{Have you read Frankenstein or seen any of the various films and theatrical (stage) productions?  I remember seeing Kenneth Branagh’s film several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Branagh played Dr. Frankenstein and Robert De Niro played the creature.}

^{If you haven’t read Frankenstein yet, let’s get our hands on it and read it together. Please leave a comment below with your thoughts on Frankenstein.}