In honor of the two hundredth anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, a manuscript from Shelley’s original handwritten notebooks is being released by an independent publishing house in France.
The classic horror novel was developed when Shelley was just 18 and was inspired by an impromptu ghost-story competition held on a stormy evening while vacationing with friends. According to the manuscript’s publisher, SP Books, Shelley’s manuscripts give a glimpse into the author’s creative process as well as personal insight into the playful relationship between Mary and her husband, fellow author Percy Shelley who wrote notes back and forth to one another in the story annotations and edits.
Paris-based SP Books is publishing 1,000 hand-numbered editions of the 328 page Frankenstein manuscript. Each manuscript is presented in a 14×10″ iron gilded slipcase with pages printed on the highest quality environmentally friendly paper using vegetal ink. The publisher is currently accepting pre-orders through the SP Books website with a launch price of $230 through today, and a list price of $250 thereafter. The book scheduled to be released in March.
