Percy Bysshe Shelley

Gender, Continuity, and the Shaping of Modernity in the Arts of East Asia, 16th–20th Centuries presents a critical introduction and nine essays that examine women’s and men’s participation in the art world and gendered visual representations from the premodern through modern eras.

Mary Shelley, the author of [*Frankenstein*][1], wrote the apocalyptic novel The Last Man in 1826. Its first person narrative tells the story of our world standing at the end of the twenty-first century and - after the devastating effects of a plague - at the end of humanity. In the book Shelley writes of weaving this story from a discovery of prophetic writings uncovered in a cave near Naples. The Last Man was made into a 2008 film. [1]: http://openlibrary.org/works/OL450125W/Frankenstein

Relatando la historia desde su lecho de muerte, Matilda cuenta la historia de la confesión de su padre sobre el amor incestuoso que sentía hacia ella, seguido por su suicidio mediante ahogamiento; su relación con un talentoso poeta joven llamado Woodville fracasa ante el objetivo de remendar las emociones de Matilda o prevenir su muerte solitaria.

Mary Shelley, the celebrated author of Frankenstein, scrutinizes the developing impact of Indian culture on a young English soldier, Falkner. As a child Falkner was mistreated and neglected at home and at school. While in the company of Mrs. Rivers and her daughter, Alithea, he is inspired to end grievous habits. But his schooldays are brought to a sudden end when he cuts the head of an usher with a knife in an abusive struggle. His uncle then places him in the East Indian military college. While there, Falkner learns of Mrs. Rivers' death, discovers that he loves Alithea, and asks her father's permission to marry her. Her father refuses so Falkner sails to India as an officer of the East India company's cavalry, still believing that Alithea will someday be his bride. Stationed in India, Falkner witnesses the subjugation of the overwhelmed natives. He learns their language and traditions but also tries to Westernize them with more enlightened social ethics. These divergent attitudes are a reflection of his developing cultural indecisiveness. When Falkner inherits his family's property after 10 years he returns to England to propose to Alithea, but she has already married. He begs her to break off the marriage and run away with him. She refuses, and he kidnaps her. Alithea is terrified, and in an attempt to escape she drowns. Falkner buries her quickly in unconsecrated ground. He then travels to the secluded village of Cornwall to make a sacrifice to Alithea's soul. This suicidal effort is prevented when the gun he is holding as he sits on her grave is knocked out of his hands by Alithea's daughter, Elizabeth. He leaves England with Elizabeth; during their travels he realizes that his obsession with his adoptive child is sexual. He confesses the crime of Alithea's drowning to her and Alithea's son, Gerard Neville. Gerard exposes the confession to his father who has Falkner arrested for murder. Falkner languishes in prison and is humiliated by a lengthy trial after which he is found innocent and forgiven. This is Shelley's final novel, and in it she counsels the unnationalized to master their pride and surrender to the laws and values of a nation they rejected.Please Note: This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.

A brief introduction to the life of Shelley, called the poet of "uncompromising spirit," and his most praised works, some extracted from the whole, others presented in full.

*Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus* is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.