What is the full title of the 1818 edition of Frankenstein?

The full title of the 1818 edition is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The subtitle connects Mary Shelley’s novel with the Greek myth of Prometheus, the figure associated with giving humanity fire and challenging divine authority.

The semicolon and the word “or” are part of the original title’s traditional form. Modern publishers often shorten the name to Frankenstein or use a colon in place of the semicolon, but those are later typographical conventions rather than the exact 1818 title.

The first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818. Its title page did not identify Mary Shelley as the author, although the novel was soon widely discussed and attributed to her. Her name appeared on a later English edition, and she substantially revised the text for the popular one-volume edition of 1831.

The subtitle also explains why the novel is often discussed alongside Romantic-era debates about science, ambition, creation, and responsibility. Prometheus is not simply a decorative reference: he provides a mythic parallel for Victor Frankenstein’s attempt to acquire extraordinary creative power and the consequences that follow.