There never was a wilder story imagined wrote one reviewer on the first publication of Frankenstein in 1818 we do not well see why it should have been written. The admiring Sir Walter Scott felt that Frankensteins unexpected and fearful events... shook a little even our firm nerves. The prophetic power of novels imagery in reflecting the dehumanising effects of science technology empire business and the mass media has never abated. Writing in 2002 Jay Clayton said As a cautionary tale Frankenste