Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus

New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, , 1983 With approximately 45 full-page black and white illustrations by Bernie Wrightson. Introduction by Stephen King. Limited edition. One of 500 numbered copies signed by Stephen King and Bernie Wrightson, this being number 322 (an additional 26 lettered copies were produced for private distribution). Publisher's black cloth, with front board stylistically lettered in blue foil and gilt, spine lettered in gilt, and navy-blue endpapers; housed in publisher's blue slipcase. Fine book; fine slipcase, with just a touch of soiling to panels. With parts of the original glassine wrapper laid in. Overall, a marvelous, strikingly illustrated copy. First published anonymously by 20-year-old Mary Shelley in 1818, Frankenstein is recognized as one of the greatest novels in the English language, and a foundational text in the horror and science fiction genres. Mary Shelley famously devised the story during a stay at a mansion in Switzerland with her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, her stepsister Claire Clairmont, Lord Byron, and John Polidori, after the five of them began a game to see who could write the best ghost story. The story is told through a series of letters from Captain Robert Walton to his sister, beginning in the middle of his voyage to the North Pole, when Walton and his crew happen upon the lone, emaciated Victor Frankenstein in need of shelter. They take the stranger on board, and Walton slowly learns of his tortured past, from a tragic childhood to scientific experiments that eventually resulted in the creation of a monster who threatens his life. For this edition of Frankenstein, American artist Bernie Wrightson worked on the illustrations, based directly on the 1831 text, on and off for seven years. He wasn't paid for the project, saying "I've always had a thing for Frankenstein, and it was a labor of love. It was not an assignment, it was not a job.". Signed. Limited Edition. Hard Cover. Fine. Illus. by Wrightson, Bernie.