<Tr> <Th> Published </Th> <Td> 1 January 1818 (Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Pages </Th> <Td> 280 </Td> </Tr> <P> Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley (1797--1851) that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment . Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition of the novel was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20 . Her name first appeared on the second edition, published in France in 1823 . </P> <P> Shelley travelled through Europe in 1814, journeying along the river Rhine in Germany with a stop in Gernsheim, which is 17 kilometres (11 mi) away from Frankenstein Castle, where, two centuries before, an alchemist was engaged in experiments . Later, she travelled in the region of Geneva (Switzerland)--where much of the story takes place--and the topic of galvanism and occult ideas were themes of conversation among her companions, particularly her lover and future husband, Percy Shelley . Mary, Percy and Lord Byron decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story . After thinking for days, Shelley dreamt about a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made; her dream later evolved into the novel's story . </P>

When was mary shelley's frankenstein first published