Lecture
Professor David Peimer
Saturday 17.10.2026
Professor David Peimer
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Bridging the Romantic and Scientific Eras
Saturday 17.10.2026
How to watch
This lecture starts on 17 October at 5:00pm (UK).
Summary
Join us as we explore how, through the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (1797–1851) blended the emotional depth of Romanticism with the anxieties of the Scientific Revolution, birthing the modern science-fiction genre by replacing supernatural horror with human technological overreach. Shelley is also the first to shift the blame from the grotesque creature to the doctor’s failure to account for his creation. And mirroring our times, the story shows how society tragically distorts the creature’s benevolent outsider quality into something monstrous and feared.
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a Professor of Literature, Film and Theatre in the UK. He has worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, New York University (Global Division) and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing. He has most recently directed Dame Janet Suzman in his own play, Joanna’s Story, at London Jewish Book Week. He has published numerous books, including Armed Response: Plays from South Africa and the digital book Theatre in the Camps. He is on the board of the Pinter Centre (London), and has been involved with the Mandela Foundation, Vaclav Havel Foundation and directed a range of plays at Mr Havel’s Prague theatre.