Frankenstein lives 200 years of the book, the movies and the monster in pop culture and beyond

On New Year's Day 1818, Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein was first published in an anonymous three-volume edition of 500 copies. Some thought the book was too radical in its implications; a few found the central theme intriguing; no-one predicted its success.

Since then, there have been many, many adaptations--120 films alone, at the last count--on screen, stage, in novels, comics and graphic novels, in advertisements and even on cereal packets. From a...