Frankenstein authorship question Frankenstein authorship question The "Frankenstein" authorship question is a debate over the role and the extent of Percy Bysshe Shelley's contributions in the writing of the novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus", published anonymously in London in 1818. Handwriting analyses have shown that some portions of the original manuscript were written in his handwriting. Arguments on the subject range from arguments that he acted strictly as an editor/reviewer (with actual authorship remaining with Mary Shelley) to claims that he was the sole author. The dispute over authorship began as soon as the novel was published anonymously on January 1, 1818
Prometheus the Fire-Bringer and then frees the Titan from his chains. Only a single line of dialogue survives from "Fire-Bringer": "Quiet, where need is; and talking to the point." This fragment is preserved in "Noctes Atticae" by the Roman scholar Aulus Gellius. Additionally, according to a scholium at line 94 of "Prometheus Bound", the Titan claims in "Fire-Bringer" that he had been bound for "thrice ten thousand years." Despite the paucity of direct evidence, Prometheus' foreshadowing of future events in the trilogy's first play suggests that the final play concerned itself with Prometheus' knowledge of a secret that could potentially lead to Zeus's