Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley (1797–1851) that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.