Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was conceived against the backdrop of rapid change in the scientific world Frankenstein & The Birth of Science offers an engrossing insight into the world of science in late-eighteenth & early-nineteenth-century Europe through the prism of the seminal science fiction novel Illustrated with line drawings & colour plates it reveals how the monster was conceived suggests the real-life basis for Victor Frankenstein & describes in vivid detail the experiments that might have led to the Creature's birth It also looks at incarnations of the monster since the book was published & modern interpretations of the "mad scientist" as well as looking ahead to permanent bionic limbs implants & other wonders Frankenstein & the Birth of Science looks back at science's progress & forward to its potential