The first edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus was published on January 1st, 1818. The publishing house that printed it, Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones produced only five hundred copies and was published anonymously. Shelly had come up with the idea for the novel following a stay in Geneva, Switzerland,  a trip where she became acquainted with Lord Byron. This trip is also responsible for the work The Vampyre by John William Polidori. The subtitle, "The Modern Prometheus" has been dropped in modern editions.