Everyone is familiar with the idea of continuity in movies. You don’t want the clock on the wall to read “4:30” in one shot and then a moment later read “11:45” even though it’s the same scene. Film fans love to compile lists of continuity bloopers.
The same goes for novels. One of my favorite books is “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. This gothic classic has gone through hundreds of editions and printings since it was first published in its current form in 1831. It’s one of those matchless books that you can pick up, open to any page, and start reading.
Towards the end of the story, Frankenstein travels by ship from Rotterdam to England, where he will make preparations to create a bride for the monster. I happen own the Dover paperback edition of 1994. At the very end of Chapter XVIII, on page 114, the author writes, “It was on a clear morning, in the latter days of December, that I first saw the white cliffs of Britain.” Then, at the beginning of Chapter XIX, on page 115, the author writes, “We had arrived in England at the beginning of October, and it was now February.”
No doubt that over the fifteen-year period during which Mary Shelley wrote the book (only a small section was written on that fabled first night in 1816), she lost track of various temporal details. It hardly diminishes the immense stature of the book, but it’s comforting to know that even in the classics you can find simple mistakes.
– Thomas Hauck is a professional book ghostwriter, editor, and author, who tries his very best to weed out such bloopers from both his books and those of his valued clients.
Thomas Hauck, Ghostwriter and Book Editor
