In Search of Frankenstein

The Frankenstein myth, or story, existed long before Hollywood and Boris Karloff got to it. In Mr Florescu's fine book, he has searched out and actually found the sources for these tales and the actual Castle Frankenstein where some of these stories had their beginning. There's the legend of Georg von Frankenstein and the "dragon monster" that terrorized the locale and how he did battle with it. There's another story that dates from the early 18th Century about the alchemist Dippel who claimed to have been able to create gold from base metals and also dabbled in the creation of an artificial man. Both these stories and a few others, Mr Florescu more than aptly proves, were more than likely the influence on Mary Wollstonecraft when she and the English poet Shelley had made their excursion down the Rhine. Fascinating history of the whole area and of the lives of Mary, Shelly and Byron living together in Switzerland. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is as intrigued as I am by such people and events. Don't pass this one up!