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Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus full cast audiobook

by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Released · Updated · 8h 14m · 22 voices

The story (no spoilers)

Victor Frankenstein, a gifted young Genevan raised in privilege and tenderly loved, abandons his home and family to pursue a forbidden scientific ambition at university. Born in Naples to devoted parents, he grows up beside Elizabeth Lavenza, the orphan his mother brings home from a poor cottage on Lake Como, and beside his loyal friend Henry Clerval. Yet his appetite for knowledge outgrows the warmth of that circle. Guided by teachers who both inspire and dismiss him, Victor shuts himself away to build something no one has made: a living, thinking being assembled from the remains of the dead. When it opens its eyes, he is seized by horror and runs from what he has done. The creature, left alone in a world that recoils from the sight of him, must learn everything for himself, and he comes to hunt for the man who gave him life. Told through letters from an Arctic expedition, the novel asks what a creator owes to his creation.

The cast

15 speaking roles are listed; walk-on parts are not. Each voice was designed, or chosen from our library of designed voices, to fit how the book describes the character, and it stays with them from the first chapter to the last. Portraits are illustrated impressions of each character.

  • Illustrated portrait of The Creature: about 30, long lustrous black, straggling, tattered rust-brown cloak over a coarse cloth wrap

    The Creature

    Male, about thirty years old, a self-taught outsider living in the wilds of Europe in the 1790s, with no class or trade. He speaks with a refined, bookish educated English accent, close to received pronunciation. A deep, rough, resonant bass-baritone, huge in build, slightly hoarse. He speaks slowly and formally in long measured phrases, sorrowful and solemn, wounded, eloquent and yearning.

  • Illustrated portrait of Victor Frankenstein: about 30, unkempt dark brown, damp and tangled, a travel-worn navy greatcoat with a forest-green muffler

    Victor Frankenstein

    Male, about thirty-five years old, a Genevan gentleman and scholar in the 1790s, upper-class and worn by grief. He speaks English with a light Swiss French accent. A low, hoarse, tired baritone, thin and exhausted, with a husky edge. He speaks slowly and carefully, sometimes faltering, and can rouse to vigour. Courteous, melancholy, driven and eloquent.

  • Illustrated portrait of Elizabeth Lavenza: about 20, light golden-brown, braided and pinned up in a soft coil, a sapphire-blue silk gown with a white lace fichu

    Elizabeth Lavenza

    Female, about twenty-two years old, a gentle Genevan gentlewoman in the 1790s, upper-class, raised in a prosperous household. She speaks English with a soft Swiss French accent. A clear, bright, silvery soprano with a light, sweet timbre. She speaks at a moderate, flowing pace, tender and affectionate, loyal, trusting and warm-hearted.

  • Illustrated portrait of Alphonse Frankenstein: about 62, silver, swept back from a high forehead, a claret-red waistcoat under a black frock coat

    Alphonse Frankenstein

    Male, about fifty-eight years old, a Genevan magistrate and gentleman in the 1790s, upper-class and respected. He speaks English with a mild Swiss French accent. A warm, mellow, mid-low baritone, slightly soft with age. He speaks slowly and kindly, with gentle, measured phrasing. Upright, benevolent, consoling and fatherly.

  • Illustrated portrait of Henry Clerval: about 24, wavy light chestnut, tousled, a moss-green coat with a cream open-necked shirt

    Henry Clerval

    Male, about twenty-four years old, the son of a Genevan merchant in the 1790s, middle-class and a student. He speaks English with a light Swiss French accent. A light, bright, quick tenor, youthful and clear, higher than the other men. He speaks in quick, lively, expressive bursts. Cheerful, warm, sympathetic and eager.

  • Illustrated portrait of Justine: about 22, dark chestnut, parted and pinned in a plain bun, a dove-grey servant's dress with a lavender kerchief

    Justine

    Female, about twenty-one years old, a Genevan household servant in the 1790s, working-class but well-mannered. She speaks English with a soft, plain rural Swiss French accent. A low, soft, slightly husky mezzo with a quiet timbre. She speaks slowly and simply, calm and a little hushed. Gentle, modest, resigned and sincere.

  • Illustrated portrait of De Lacey: about 75, white, long and silky, thin on top, a patched mustard-yellow woollen smock

    De Lacey

    Male, about seventy-two years old, a blind retired French gentleman living poor in a German cottage in the 1790s. He speaks English with a soft French accent. His voice is a frail, light, breathy tenor, thin with age. He speaks very slowly and gently, with long pauses. Kind, charitable, trusting and soothing.

  • Illustrated portrait of Ernest: about 16, copper-red, floppy, a tobacco-brown jacket with a burgundy neckcloth

    Ernest

    Male, about eighteen years old, Ernest, a well-bred Genevan brother of the household in Geneva in the 1790s, sympathetic and cheerful. He speaks with a soft Swiss French accent. His voice is a light, bright, clear tenor, slim and quick. He speaks gently and a hurriedly, warm but subdued.

  • Illustrated portrait of Krempe: about 50, coarse black streaked with grey, close-cropped, a black professor's gown with an ochre-trimmed collar

    Krempe

    Male, about forty-eight years old, a German professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt in the 1790s, middle class. He speaks English with a harsh German accent. His voice is a gruff, low, rasping baritone from a squat, stout build. He speaks in short, blunt, quick bursts. Gruff, vain, sly and dismissive.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mr. Kirwin: about 58, thinning white, combed over, a plum-coloured coat with a buff waistcoat

    Mr. Kirwin

    Male, about fifty-five years old, an Irish magistrate living in a coastal Irish town in the 1790s, a prosperous middle-class gentleman. Soft, educated Irish accent. A light, smooth baritone, mild and clear. Speaks gently and considerately at an even, unhurried pace. Kind, sympathetic, courteous and a little puzzled.

  • Illustrated portrait of Waldman: about 45, bald crown with grey fringe at the sides, a slate-blue frock coat with a saffron-yellow waistcoat

    Waldman

    Male, about forty-five years old, a German university professor of chemistry at Ingolstadt in the 1790s, a middle-class academic. Mild German accent in warm English. A rounded, mellow tenor, pleasant and clear. Speaks with an even, measured and encouraging cadence. Kind, warm, patient and quietly enthusiastic.

  • Illustrated portrait of Robert Walton: about 35, sandy-blond, windblown and cropped short, a teal-blue naval-style jacket with a fur collar

    Robert Walton

    Male, about twenty-eight years old, an English sea captain on an Arctic voyage in the 1790s, a well-educated middle-class gentleman. Clear, crisp English received pronunciation. A steady, clean mid-range baritone. Speaks briskly and politely, with a restrained, precise manner. Ambitious, courteous, tactful and earnest.

  • Illustrated portrait of Caroline Beaufort: about 40, dark brown streaked with grey, coiled in a low chignon, an emerald-green gown with a cream lace collar

    Caroline Beaufort

    Female, about forty years old, a Genevan gentlewoman and mother living in Switzerland in the 1790s, a refined upper-class wife. Soft Swiss French accent in educated English. A warm, rounded mezzo-soprano, tender and clear. Speaks softly and unhurriedly, with a playful lightness. Tender, charitable, courageous and loving.

  • Illustrated portrait of William: about 5, curly golden-blond, a bright scarlet tunic with a white lace collar

    William

    A six-year-old Swiss (Genevan) boy, a member of gentleman's household in the 1790s, with a soft Swiss French accent. His voice is high-pitched, high, light, with quick, bright energy. He is bright, spirited.

  • Illustrated portrait of Felix: about 25, jet-black, short and wavy, a faded indigo peasant jacket with a rust-orange neckerchief

    Felix

    Male, about twenty-six years old, a poor French gentleman living in a German cottage in the 1790s, formerly well-off. He speaks English with a clear Parisian French accent. A warm, steady, medium baritone, earnest and even. He speaks slowly and sincerely with measured phrasing. Devoted, serious, gentle and dutiful.

Chapters

28 chapter markers; each link opens the video on YouTube at that point.

  1. Letter 1
  2. Letter 2
  3. Letter 3
  4. Letter 4
  5. Chapter 1
  6. Chapter 2
  7. Chapter 3
  8. Chapter 4
  9. Chapter 5
  10. Chapter 6
  11. Chapter 7
  12. Chapter 8
  13. Chapter 9
  14. Chapter 10
  15. Chapter 11
  16. Chapter 12
  17. Chapter 13
  18. Chapter 14
  19. Chapter 15
  20. Chapter 16
  21. Chapter 17
  22. Chapter 18
  23. Chapter 19
  24. Chapter 20
  25. Chapter 21
  26. Chapter 22
  27. Chapter 23
  28. Chapter 24

About this recording

Narrator
Told in Victor Frankenstein's own character voice
Runtime
8h 14m (complete and unabridged)
Voices
22
Channel
Best Free Audiobooks on YouTube
Released
Updated
Author
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
First published
1818
Kind
Gothic novel
Source edition
Project Gutenberg eBook #84
Public domain (US)
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is in the public domain in the United States; text from Project Gutenberg.