Title: At Last, the True Story of Frankenstein
Author: Harry Harrison
Date of First Publication: September 1965
Place of Publication: Science Fantasy #76, Ed. Kyril Bonfigioli
Bibliographic Reference: isfdb
Type: Short Story
Characters: Victor Frankenstein
Keywords: ANDROID; BYRONIC HERO; FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER
Critical Summary: Dan Bream, a reporter from America, is with the scientist Victor Frankenstein V, a direct descendant of the infamous Victor Frankenstein. In a stuffy, humid tent Frankenstein V and Bream discuss the implications of life and before them lays the corpse of Frankenstein’s experiment and latest victim. The two men then retire to a refreshing, air conditioned bar where they discuss Bream’s connection to the press and his history as a reporter. All the while, Frankenstein V is changing his accent, to Bream’s intrigue, from a “brusque German” to an American accent to a British accent; this fluid transition of Frankenstein V’s accents intrigues Bream, though never specifically mentioned over their frosty mugs of beer. A discussion ensues in which Bream asks about Frankenstein V’s origins and age since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was released in 1818 and the generational gap presented between then and now does not make sense to Bream. Frankenstein V begins to feel wary and while in conversation takes out a needle filled with sedative and injects it into Bream. As Bream questions why Frankenstein V would do such a thing, Frankenstein V ominously concludes the story by revealing that the stiff on the operating table was a reporter in his past life, hinting at Bream’s own upcoming demise.
Clearly, the relation to the novel Frankenstein is seen in the overt connection to Mary Shelley’s own character, Victor Frankenstein, actualized in Harrison’s character Victor Frankenstein V. Elements of the novel are also present in the opening scene with the corpse being operated on, with notable attention being paid to its relation to the Creature in Frankenstein.
Administrative Notes: Rebekah Kromm, CSUF. Edited by Gareth O’Neal and Adriana Lora, CSUF