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The Transformation

Mary Shelley

First published 1891
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

A boy who left home and lost his moral bearings as he grew to manhood returns to his place of birth, to find that his childhood betrothal has become invalid due to his flawed character. He is inflamed by rage and dreams of vengeance, but comes upon a dwarf who offers to temporarily switch bodies with him, so as to try to repair relations and win back his lost love.

First published late 1830 in The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXI (The Keepsake), pp. 18-39, as "Transformation", as 'by the Author of "Frankenstein." ' (viewed at Google Books)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
1891 Cover Tales and Stories William Paterson Collection 165
1891 Tales and Stories J. B. Lippincott Collection |165
May 1967 Cover The Gentlewomen of Evil: An Anthology of Rare Supernatural Stories from the Pens of Victorian Ladies Robert Hale Anthology 15
June 1967 Cover The Gentlewomen of Evil: An Anthology of Rare Supernatural Stories from the Pens of Victorian Ladies Taplinger Anthology 15
April 1968 Cover Masters of Horror Berkley Medallion Anthology 68
1971 Cover Ein Totenschädel aus Zucker Heyne Anthology 46
1973 Cover The Nightmare Reader Doubleday & Company Anthology 13
August 1973 Cover The Nightmare Reader Gollancz Anthology 13
October 1974 Cover Christopher Lee's New Chamber of Horrors Souvenir Press Anthology 47
June 1975 Tales and Stories Gregg Press Collection 165
1976 Cover The Nightmare Reader Volume One Pan Books Anthology 30
1976 Cover Christopher Lee's New Chamber of Horrors Mayflower Anthology 44
1976 Cover Collected Tales and Stories with Original Engravings The Johns Hopkins University Press Collection 121
1979 Cover Romantic Gothic Tales, 1790-1840 Perennial Library / Harper & Row Anthology 238
June 1981 Cover The Evil Image: Two Centuries of Gothic Short Fiction and Poetry NAL Meridian Anthology 117
May 1985 Cover Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural Doubleday / SFBC Anthology 107
June 1985 Cover Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural Doubleday Anthology 107
June 1987 Cover Classic Stories of Mystery, Horror and Suspense Robert Hale Anthology 169
1990 Cover Collected Tales and Stories with Original Engravings The Johns Hopkins University Press Collection 121
July 1990 The Mary Shelley Reader Oxford University Press Omnibus 286
July 1990 The Mary Shelley Reader Oxford University Press Omnibus 286
October 1990 Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural Dorset Press Anthology
December 1991 Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural Macdonald Anthology
October 1992 Cover Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural Warner Books UK Anthology
August 1993 Cover Horror by Lamplight Chancellor Press Anthology 41
1994 Cover The Frankenstein Omnibus Chartwell Books Anthology 504
March 1994 Cover The Frankenstein Omnibus Orion Anthology 504
March 1994 Cover The Frankenstein Omnibus Orion Anthology 504
February 1995 Cover The Frankenstein Omnibus Orion Anthology 576
November 1996 Cover The Mortal Immortal: The Complete Supernatural Short Fiction Tachyon Publications Collection 12
November 1996 The Mortal Immortal: The Complete Supernatural Short Fiction Tachyon Publications Collection 12
February 1998 Cover Le visage vert, Fevrier 1998 Joëlle Losfeld MAGAZINE 18
February 1998 Cover Le visage vert, Fevrier 1998 Joëlle Losfeld MAGAZINE 18
2003 The Frankenstein Omnibus Bounty Books Anthology 504
April 2006 Cover Classic Tales of Horror Bloody Books Anthology 172
March 2008 Cover Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / The Secret Sharer / Transformation: Three Tales of Doubles Pearson Longman Anthology 5
September 2008 Cover Horror Story Collection 5 LibriVox Anthology |10
June 2009 Cover The Day They Hanged My Best Friend Jimmy... And 21 Other Weird Tales to Get You Through the Coldest Nights Tangled Vines Press Anthology 78
February 2010 Cover The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Mary Shelley: Volume 1 Leonaur Ltd Omnibus |4
February 2010 Cover The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Mary Shelley: Volume 1 Leonaur Ltd Omnibus
March 2012 Cover The Mammoth Book of Body Horror Robinson Anthology 5
April 2012 Cover The Mammoth Book of Body Horror Running Press Anthology 5
February 2015 Cover Middle Unearthed: The Best Fantasy Short Stories 1800-1849 Bottletree Books Anthology 51
May 2016 Cover The Cold Embrace: Weird Stories by Women Dover Publications Anthology 1
February 2018 Cover Beyond Frankenstein: The Complete Supernatural Short Fiction Particle Books / Tachyon Publications Collection |4
March 2018 Tales and Stories Project Gutenberg Collection 165
September 2018 Cover Frankenstein and Others: The Complete Weird Fiction of Mary Shelley Hippocampus Press Collection |4
December 2018 Cover Horror Stories Flame Tree Publishing Anthology 243
December 2018 Cover Horror Stories Flame Tree Press Anthology |243
February 2019 Cover More Deadly Than the Male: Masterpieces from the Queens of Horror Pegasus Books Anthology 1
February 2019 Cover More Deadly Than the Male: Masterpieces from the Queens of Horror Pegasus Books Anthology
March 2019 Cover Transformation Alma Classics Chapbook
April 2019 Cover Transformation Alma Classics Chapbook
July 2019 Cover The Big Book of Classic Fantasy: The Ultimate Collection Vintage Books Anthology 41
July 2019 Cover The Big Book of Classic Fantasy: The Ultimate Collection Vintage Books Anthology
November 2020 Cover Cambiamento Caravaggio Editore Chapbook |2
2021 Cover HYNH+ Vol. IV. Nr 3 No-Art MAGAZINE 10
March 2021 Cover Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus & Other Tales Flame Tree Press Collection 285
June 2023 Horror Historia Violet CSRC Storytelling Anthology 327
April 2025 Cover Transformation Penguin Books Collection