MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN: A Monstrous Legacy

Presents

FRANKENSTEIN: A Monstrous Legacy

Associate Professor Alexandra Neel discusses the lasting influence of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, among the earliest examples of science fiction

A specialist in nineteenth-century British literature and visual culture, Alexandra Neel is an Associate Professor in the English Department at Loyola Marymount University, where she’s been teaching for the past 15 years. She earned her PhD in English Literature from Princeton University in 2007.

Neel's work focuses on the exchanges between illustrated travelogues of polar exploration and literary works, which range from Captain Cook's Second Voyage and Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner to Scott's Last Expedition and Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse. She's published articles on Shelley's Frankenstein and its ties to artmaking, Dickens and slavery, and Virginia Woolf and photography.

Last semester at LMU, she taught a course titled “From Frankenstein to AI,” taking a deep dive into arguably the first novel expression of our fear and fascination with artificial intelligence—Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Tickets to this talk are offered FREE with admission to .

RARE BOOKS LA UNION STATION CELEBRATES FRANKENSTEIN

"It’s alive, IT’S ALIVE…!” Rare Books LA returns to Los Angeles Union Station on October 4-5, 2025 with a monstrous selection of antiquarian books, maps, fine prints, book arts, and more. This year’s fair is celebrating the release of Rare Books LA friend and patron Guillermo Del Toro’s new film Frankenstein on Netflix this November.

With support from AbeBooks, more than 50 exhibitors from London, New York, and everywhere in between will fill the Ticket Concourse at LA Union Station with an electrifying array of first editions and other historical material. Attendees are encouraged to join our partner Metro and hop onboard Metrolink, Metro Rail, or Amtrak for this transit-friendly book fair.

In advance of the book fair, Rare Books LA is supporting an exclusive evening of film and conversation benefiting the Los Angeles Public Library. Academy Award–winning filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro is sharing scenes from his highly anticipated adaptation of the 1818 Mary Shelley classic and discussing making the film with antiquarian bookseller Ken Sanders. Hosted by Netflix in association with Rare Books LA and the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, proceeds from this special event will benefit the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA) in its mission to provide critical support for the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), including the long-term recovery of the LAPL Palisades Branch, which was destroyed in the January fires. The benefit will be held on Friday, October 3, beginning at 6:00 pm. in Hollywood. Tickets are $250 and patrons receive a movie poster, bookmark and a pair of tickets for Rare Books LA Union Station.

Rare Books LA Union Station takes place at 800 N. Alameda Street and is open to the public from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday, October 4, and from 11 am to 4 pm on Sunday, October 5.

Please visit our website for a list of exhibitors.

For tickets and more information about the book fair, please click here.

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