Frankenstein

Galvanism: its approach as a remedial agent, 1853

Cleaveland presents a compilation of writings from medical practitioners who used the application of electrical current to treat their patients. Galvanism is the contraction of muscle stimulated by electricity. Discovered by Italian physician Luigi Galvani (1737–1798), it was thought to have the potential to revive the dead. Mary Shelley's knowledge of galvanism and the hopes for its potential in her time are evident as Victor Frankenstein makes several references to electricity in Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus (1818).

Courtesy National Library of Medicine