How Frankenstein paved the way for generations of marginalised voices in fiction.

This event will take place in the British Library. It will be simultaneously live streamed on the British Library platform as part of Fantasy Worlds: A Day of Talks online day pass. Tickets may be booked either to attend in person (physical) or to watch on our platform (online) either live or within 48 hours on catch up. Viewing links for the online version will be sent out shortly before the event. 

This illustrated lecture traces the roots of Mary Shelley’s writing in traditions of myth, fantasy, and romance, and shows how she inspired a creative efflorescence of genres through her novels Frankenstein (1818) and The Last Man (1826) and her short story The Invisible Girl (1832–33). Eileen Hunt explores the post-apocalyptic, feminist and anti-racist literatures – often articulated by the marginalised voices of women and Black writers – that have flowed from these pioneering dystopian and Gothic texts. 

Part of Fantasy Worlds: A Day of Talks. For the full day programme and to book day in-person or online passes visit the day page.

Eileen Hunt is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. Her interests cover modern political thought, feminism, the family, rights, ethics of technology, and philosophy and literature. Her books include Family Feuds: Wollstonecraft, Burke, and Rousseau on the Transformation of the Family (SUNY, 2006); Wollstonecraft, Mill, and Women's Human Rights (Yale, 2016); Mary Shelley and the Rights of the Child: Political Philosophy in 'Frankenstein' (Penn Press, 2018), Artificial Life After Frankenstein (Penn Press, 2021) which won the David Easton Award for ‘a book that broadens the horizons of contemporary political science by engaging issues of philosophical significance in political life’. Her newest work is The First Last Man: Mary Shelley and the Post-Apocalyptic Imagination (forthcoming 2024). 

This event accompanies our exhibition Fantasy: Realms of Imagination, supported by:

If you’re attending in person, please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event.

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