Mary Shelley · 1818 · 1818 first edition text
Frankenstein
Frankenstein (1818) opens with Arctic explorer Robert Walton’s letters home before handing the story to Victor Frankenstein and, eventually, his creature. The Psychologist reading companion in IO reader tracks what each narrator admits and avoids — the creature’s own account, later in the book, complicates who the real monster is.
Read the opening in Reels
PART I · PARAGRAPH
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. I arrived here yesterday, and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my welfare and increasing confidence in the success of my undertaking.
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.
Frankenstein · Mary Shelley
Interactive demo — real text, web replica of the reading view
Read it with a reading companion
Analyzes character motivations, emotional patterns, and psychological dynamics.
Read it with the Psychologist in IO reader.
The facts
| Length | about 75,000 words · 3,120 sentences |
|---|---|
| In sentence cards | about 208 minutes |
| Difficulty | steady |
| First line | You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. |
| Themes | Letters 1–4 · Chapters 1–10 · Chapters 11–17 · Chapters 18–24 |
Is Frankenstein hard to read?
It opens with framing letters before the main story, which some readers skim, but the prose is clear. In sentence cards it's about 208 minutes.
Which translation is this?
None needed — the 1818 first-edition English text, public domain.
How long is Frankenstein?
About 75,000 words, told through nested narrators; roughly 3,120 sentences.
Read Frankenstein in IO reader
Colophon
Text: 1818 first edition text, from Project Gutenberg (pg:84). Cover: Standard Ebooks CC0 cover, mary-shelley/frankenstein. Reviewed 2026-09-04.