Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus (hardcover)
Mary Shelley
Illustrated by Nino Carbé
Calla Editions, an imprint of Dover Publications
April, 2016
Reviewed by Jess Landry
If you’re a fan of horror literature, then you most likely know about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. But just in case you happen to be one of the handful of people not familiar with one of the most famous stories in literature, here’s the jist:
Frankenstein follows Victor Frankenstein’s triumph as he reanimates a dead body, and then his guilt for creating such a thing. When the “Frankenstein monster” realizes how he came to be and is rejected by mankind, he seeks revenge on his creator’s family to avenge his own sorrow. (Thanks, Cliff Notes!)
The story itself has been released and re-released a million times, be it in novel form (the Guillermo del Toro/Penguin Horror series is a nice example of a re-issue done right) or adapted into a plethora of low- and big-budget films (did anyone even see Victor Frankenstein? Anyone?). What makes this most recent hardcover from Calla Editions stand out from the others are the beautiful paintings and drawings that accompany the text, all from illustrator Nino Carbé.
Though his name may not be overly familiar, it’s very likely you’ve seen some of his work. From Fantasia, Bambi, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and many others, Carbé used his talents in the storyboard and background departments at Disney. But before his work with Disney, he worked on illustrating some classic novels including a 1930’s edition of Tales of Arabian Nights, a 1931 printing of Cyrano de Bergerac, and a 1932 edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, (which is thought to be the very first illustrated version of the classic other than the original 1831 edition), and those illustrations (plus a handful of paintings done later in his life) appear here.
This beautiful hardcover is a must for any Frankenstein collector and anyone who appreciates good art. It’s a perfect coffee table book, and a fine ode to one of the greatest horror stories ever told.
