Dear Blog,

Well, it was quite a week last week. It was the Manchester Science Festival and as part of that on Wednesday 27th October from 6-8pm I gave a talk and seminar workshop on ‘The Science of Frankenstein’, hosted by Manchester City Library at Eliot House on Deansgate. There was a disappointing turnout – even more so because we had turned people away but in the event only half of those registered turned up! (I know next time to allow twice as many to register.) But, it went well I think. I put the novel in context, and used research from my book Shelley and Vitality on the John Abernethy and William Lawrence debate as well as research into the Humane Society’s methods of reviving drowned persons from an article published in the Keats-Shelley Review a few years ago. It was good to give this material an airing in a public forum and from the feedback it seemed as though people enjoyed hearing about the scientific experiments at the time. The seminar was enjoyable too; we focused on the particular chapters that were most relevant to my talk and people spoke and had things to say about the novel.

I had questions though on what is happening today – someone asked about the cuts to the Human Fertilisation and Embyrology Authority (http://www.hfea.gov.uk/) headed up by Lisa Jardine, and someone else about advances in embryology. These were supposed to be the subjects of another public event that I was involved with last week. It was also part of the Manchester Science Festival but also on the programme of another festival Grimm up North, a festival of horror (http://grimmfest.com/). So, on Friday last week I went to the Dancehouse, Oxford Road, to take part in a panel discussion with two other academics, Lucy Burke and Joan Ormerod from MMU. The organisers had put together a series of film clips, beginning with the creation scene in Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein, and the seminar was called ‘Make a Monster’. Discussion began with Frankenstein but moved on to discuss genetic engineering.

Today the application form has gone online for event four to be held 13-14 January 2011 in the Universities of Manchester and Salford. The programme can be found at: http://www.litscimed.org.uk/page/event4 There are only 20 places and applications must be submitted by 1st December. We’ve already booked 20 rooms at the Ibis Hotel in Manchester for the successful students and I’m planning to have a party on the first night at my flat to celebrate being more than half way through the programme – this is the fourth event of six and the programme will be over by the end of next summer.

I’m in Dublin now, currently at the National Library of Ireland reading Davy letters. More soon.

Best,

Sharon