Being Right About… Mary Shelley: A Podcast to Listen to Online

This France Culture podcast series examines Mary Shelley’s life and literary legacy, focusing on how her masterwork Frankenstein emerged from her distinctive intellectual and emotional experiences. A polyglot and self-educated thinker shaped by Enlightenment philosophy and the French Revolution, Shelley developed radical feminist and critical perspectives early in life. Her transgressive relationship with poet Percy Shelley exposed her to personal tragedy—death, exile, loss—experiences that infused her writing. Published anonymously in 1818, Frankenstein blends romantic, gothic, and science-fiction elements to interrogate the ethics of scientific creation and the dangers of unchecked masculine rationality. Inspired by Galvani’s experiments and vitalist theory, the novel explores the hubris of the mad scientist archetype. Though initially receiving modest attention, Frankenstein became a global cultural myth through theatrical adaptations and cinema, from Boris Karloff’s 1931 portrayal to contemporary reinterpretations, demonstrating the enduring resonance of Shelley’s foundational science-fiction narrative.

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