Prestwick House is proud to offer our Spotlight Editions? ? thoughtful, intelligent adaptations of some of the world's greatest literature. Each Spotlight -Edition? maintains the rich integrity of the original work while adapting the language to be more accessible to the average high school student.In addition to providing a more readable text, Prestwick House Spotlight Editions? are enhanced, providing your students with? thoughtful guided reading questions and margin notes to help students -navigate the text;? suggestions for thought and discussion;? research opportunities for richer understanding of the text and its contexts;? suggested writing activities to foster deeper thinking.

A thrilling and gruesome look at the science that influenced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The year 1818 saw the publication of one of the most influential science-fiction stories of all time. Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley had a huge impact on the gothic horror and science-fiction genres, and her creation has become part of our everyday culture, from cartoons to Hallowe'en costumes. Even the name 'Frankenstein' has become a by-word for evil scientists and dangerous experiments. How did a teenager with no formal education come up with the idea for such an extraordinary novel? Clues are dotted throughout Georgian science and popular culture. The years before the book's publication saw huge advances in our understanding of the natural sciences, in areas such as electricity and physiology, for example. Sensational science demonstrations caught the imagination of the general public, while the newspapers were full of lurid tales of murderers and resurrectionists. Making the Monster explores the scientific background behind Mary Shelley's book. Is there any science fact behind the science fiction? And how might a real-life Victor Frankenstein have gone about creating his monster? From tales of volcanic eruptions, artificial life and chemical revolutions, to experimental surgery, 'monsters' and electrical experiments on human cadavers, Kathryn Harkup examines the science and scientists that influenced Shelley, and inspired her most famous creation.

Considered by many to be the most terrifying writer in English, M.R. James was an eminent scholar who spent his entire adult life in the academic surroundings of Eton and Cambridge. His classic supernatural tales draw on the terrors of the everyday, in which documents and objects unleash terrible forces, often in closed rooms and night-time settings where imagination runs riot. Lonely country houses, remote inns, ancient churches or the manuscript collections of great libraries provide settings for unbearable menace, from creatures seeking retribution and harm. These stories have lost none of their power to unsettle and disturb. This edition presents all of James's published ghost stories, including the unforgettable 'Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad' and 'Casting the Runes', and an appendix of James's writings on the ghost story. Darryl Jones's introduction and notes provide a fascinating insight into James's background and his mastery of the genre he made his own. --! From publisher's description.

Your favorite characters are now part of the Who HQ library! One of the most iconic monsters of all time comes to life in our What Is the Story Of? series. From his origins in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, through his many movie portrayals in the twentieth century, Frankenstein is one of the most recognizable characters in the world. His iconic look is a go-to Halloween costume for kids and adults alike. But how did the mad scientist and his creation become so popular? Author Sheila Keenan explains his spooky origin story, the history of the movies, and what lies ahead for this monstrous creature.

Frankenstein was first released in 1818 anonymously. The credit for Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s authorship first occurred in 1823 when a French edition was published. A year earlier, Mary’s revolutionary husband, the influential poet, dramatist, novelist, and essayist Percy Bysshe Shelley, died. The same year Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus (its full title) was first published, so was another work by Mary’s husband that shares use of the word Prometheus. The drama Prometheus Unbound was indeed credited to Percy Shelley. The secret admission of many experts in English literature is that Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley did not write a good portion of Frankenstein. In Shelley Unbound, Oxford scholar Scott D. de Hart examines the critical information about Percy Shelley’s scientific avocations, his disputes against church and state, and his connection to the illegal and infamous anti-Catholic organization, the Illuminati. Scott D. de Hart’s fascinating investigation into Frankenstein and the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Percy Shelley results in an inconvenient truth regarding what we have long believed to be a great early example of the feminist canon. Scott D. de Hart was born and raised in Southern California. He graduated from Oxford University with a PhD specializing in nineteenth-century English literature and legal controversies.

Retells, in graphic novel format, Mary Shelley's classic tale of a monster, assembled by a scientist from parts of dead bodies, who develops a mind of his own as he learns to loathe himself and hate his creator.

First published in 1923, Proserpine and Midas is a compilation of two important verse dramas by Mary Shelley. They are based on ancient myths about the Roman god Proserpine and the legendary Greek character who was given the power of alchemy. Readers will enjoy this sampling of dramatic poetry by the author of Frankenstein....