1. This is an exhibition guide published in partnership with the Lilly Library. Although an exhibit guide, it is well-written and entertaining, and will hold appeal to those interested in Frankenstein even if they don't attend the exhibit
2. At past openings to exhibits, attendance has been between 750-1000 people.
3. 2018 is the 200th Anniversary of the publication of the 1818 edition of Frankenstein, the first edition of the book.
Two centuries ago, a teenage genius created a monster that still walks among us. In 1818, Mary Shelley published Frankenstein, and in doing so set forth into the world a scientist and his monster. The daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, famed women's rights advocate, and William Godwin, radical political thinker and writer, Mary Shelley is considered the mother of the modern genres of horror and science fiction. At its core, however, Shelley's Frankenstein is a contemplation on what it means to be human, what it means to chase perfection, and what it means to fear things suchsuch things as ugliness, loneliness, and rejection.
In celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, the Lilly Library at Indiana University presents Frankenstein 200: The Birth, Life, and Resurrection of Mary Shelley's Monster. This beautifully illustrated catalog looks closely at Mary Shelley's life and influences, examines the hundreds of reincarnations her book and its characters have enjoyed, and highlights the vast, deep, and eclectic collections of the Lilly Library. This exhibition catalog is a celebration of books, of the monstrousness that exists within us all, and of the genius of Mary Shelley.
Foreword: Cavendish's Daughters: Speculative Fiction and Women's History by Jonathan Kearns
Stitched and Bound by Love and Fear: Books, Monsters, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein by Rebecca Baumann
Case 1: Mary Shelley and the Birth of Frankenstein
Case 2: Mary and Percy
Case 3: Mary Beyond Frankenstein
Case 4: Mary's Father, William Godwin
Case 5: Mary's Mother, Mary Wollstonecraft
Case 6: Mad Science
Case 7: The Gothic
Case 8: The Monster's Books
Case 9: Victor Frankenstein's Books
Case 10: Frankenstein in Popular Culture
Case 11: The Undead
Case 12: Artificial Life
Case 13: Adapting Frankenstein
Case 14: Illustrating Frankenstein
Case 15: Outsiders and Others
Case 16: More Monsters
Case 17 and Case 18: Weird Women
Bibliography