Hot Frank Summer Starts Now!
Hey folks. I’ve posted a couple of times about Hot Frank Summer, the group read of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1831 edition) that some folks are doing on Bluesky. Well, it kicks off today. To participate, all you need to do is follow the reading schedule. If you don’t have a copy of the book yet, check out this free ebook version by Standard Ebooks — they even have a web version you can read on your phone or tablet (or Vision Pro, I guess?).
If you’d also like to discuss the book (and/or follow along with others discussing the book), there’s this feed on Bluesky. I found this little tidbit on the feed:
Frankenstein takes place in the mid-1790s and Moby Dick may take place as early as 1830, so it’s possible Captain Walton sailed with a young Ahab.
Someone needs to write that little crossover prequel.
Anyway, you can also use this comment thread as a place to discuss the book. I’m not sure how well it will work, but we can give it a try? I’d suggest not discussing anything ahead of the day’s reading, but other than that, let ‘er rip!
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Ooh, fun!
The reading schedule is for the 1831 edition, so that's what I'm using. I'm not sure how different the various editions are from each other, but it seems like everyone reading the same one would be helpful.
Here's a rundown of the differences between the 1818 and 1831 editions (spoilers, I would assume). (via @jesse.lansner.com)
Thank you! I noticed you had marked the year just after I left my comment so used your handy new “edit” feature to remove that comment, but you’re too speedy! Thanks, Jason.
I’ve read both editions so was genuinely curious which one would be chosen! I love that back in the day, authors would change their text so much more than they do now, often in response to the reaction of readers, which I think is so interesting. Samuel Richardson, for instance, would add footnotes throughout Clarissa to make sure readers better understood which characters were “bad” so they’d get his didactic message that he thought they were clearly missing based on early reviews, and it’s so interesting to read different versions of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles because in some cases, (spoiler!) a pivotal scene is clearly a rape (complete with drugs) and in other versions it’s a more nebulous scene.
Gah I forgot the link to the comparison.
Oh, I'm in!
I've been reading it on my phone while I waited for the physical book to arrive. I just finished the letters and have gotten in to Ch 1.
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