This was not my first reading of this novel, but it was my first time studying it with different analytical lenses. The Norton edition is incredibly helpful providing footnotes with context, and contemporary analyses in the latter half of the book. I loved this book the first time I read it for the important questions about our existence and humanity that it asks, and even more on this reading. Knowing what was coming, I was able to find much more depth in the novel and the specific elements Shelley chose to focus on. I highly recommend this novel to anyone, not only students. This particular edition can be substituted for the context provided in a classroom for those looking for a more comprehensive reading of this landmark classic. ( )

Heartbreaking and sublime and terrific! I forgot just how good this story is, and I think everyone should read it at least once in their life. ( )

Technically I didn´t read the entire Norton Critical edition, but I read the intro and the footnotes in it. The notes were very helpful, since I was reading it for the first time (for a college class). I really enjoyed the Romantic-era language, but it definitely was not what I was expecting. It is not a super scary 1800s horror novel, but it does ask some interesting questions about identity, perception, and human nature. ( )

org 1818

I didn't love this the way I was hoping to. It was okay. I'm not going to run out and get the leather bound version of this. Once was enough. ( )