Three editions of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein:
1818, 1823, and 1831
 Fig 1.First edition, 1818 |
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 Fig 2.Second edition, 1823 |
 Fig 3.Third edition, 1831 |
 Fig 4.Modern edition |
 Fig 5.Modern edition |
 Fig 6.Modern edition |
 Fig 7.Modern edition |
 Fig 8.Modern edition |
 Fig 9.Graphic Novel adaptation of Frankenstein, by Bernie Wrightson |
 Fig 10.a Blu-Ray film adaptation. |
The first three images portray the title pages of the first three editions of Frankenstein, that is 1818, 1823, and 1831 editions. Note the Paradise Lost epigraph is present in the first edition, yet removed from the two other editions. The last edition, 1831, instead of a Paradise Lost epigraph offers one from Frankenstein itself. The second title, The Modern Prometheus, is present in both the 1818 and the 1823 editions, but removed in the 1831 edition (which titles the novel only as Frankenstein). The 1818 edition was evidently printed in three volumes, the 1823 edition in two volumes, and the 1831 edition in a single volume. The first edition does not contain Mary Shelley's name on it, and thus is published anonymously, however, the second and third editions do. The third edition also offers illustrations that are absent in the latter two editions.
Frankenstein has come a long way since 1818
For access to digital collections of the first thee editions use:
1818:
1823:
1831:
For more resources:
2. http://shelleygodwinarchive.org/contents/frankenstein/
1. https://archive.org/stream/ghostseer01schiuoft#page/n5/mode/2up
1. A fun list of all the major publications: https://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/frankenstein/textual
2. Reocunting all the changes between the first three editions:
https://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/frankenstein
