The Lady and Her Monsters - A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley's Masterpiece

The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Motillo brings to life the fascinating times, startling science, and real-life horrors behind Mary Shelley’s gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein.

Montillo recounts how—at the intersection of the Romantic Age and the Industrial Revolution—Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein was inspired by actual scientists of the period: curious and daring iconoclasts who were obsessed with the inner workings of the human body and how it might be reanimated after death.

With true-life tales of grave robbers, ghoulish experiments, and the ultimate in macabre research—human reanimation—The Lady and Her Monsters is a brilliant exploration of the creation of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s horror classic.

But what was the real-life science that sparked one of literature’s most enduring horror stories?

A Shocking History of Science: Explore the intersection of the Romantic Age and the Industrial Revolution, where daring scientists and anatomists pushed the boundaries of life and death. Real-Life Frankensteins: Meet the actual researchers like Luigi Galvani and Giovanni Aldini, whose ghoulish experiments with electricity on corpses directly inspired Victor Frankenstein. Grave Robbers and Body Snatching: Delve into the macabre underworld of the “resurrection men,” the professional body snatchers who supplied medical schools with cadavers for their shocking research. The Birth of a Masterpiece: Uncover the fascinating story of Mary Shelley herself—surrounded by luminaries like Percy Shelley and Lord Byron—and how she wove cutting-edge science and real-life horror into her iconic gothic novel.