 Shelley completed her writing in April/May 1817, and "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" was published on 1 January 1818 by the small London publishing house Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones.It was issued anonymously, with a preface written for Mary by Percy Bysshe Shelley and with a dedication to philosopher William Godwin, her father.It was published in an edition of just 500 copies in three volumes, the standard "triple-decker" format for 19th-century first editions.