Frankenstein
Mary Shelley, 1818.
Before you read: A dark story with deaths and a lonely creature. Best for teens.
A young scientist builds a living creature and then runs from what he has made. The creature learns to speak and read, begs for kindness, and turns bitter when no one gives it. Shelley tells the story through letters from an Arctic explorer, Victor Frankenstein's own account, and the creature's voice, so you hear each side.
Public-domain text. First published in 1818; Mary Shelley died in 1851, so this text is in the public domain in the US, Canada, the EU and India. Summary and notes written by ViralScopeHub.