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 Unbound (Shelley) which allows Prometheus to be released. Shelley's play is a closet drama, meaning it was not intended to be produced on the stage. In the tradition of Romantic poetry, Shelley wrote for the imagination, intending his play's stage to reside in the imaginations of his readers. However, the play is filled with suspense, mystery and other dramatic effects that make it, in theory, performable. Mary Shelley, in a letter on 5 September 1818, was the first to describe her husband Percy Shelley's writing of "Prometheus Unbound". On 22 September 1818, Shelley, while in Padua, wrote to Mary, who was at