I have indeed read this story several times and think it is amazing. I know that there was quite a bit of controversy over it when it was published, and that the controversy was due to morality issues in the book, but I do not know if the church ever released a public attack on it.

If Mary Shelley had been alive today and gone to write Frankenstein with an understanding of modern science, I think she would probably have produced something similar to Michael Crighton's works ( the author of 'Jurassic Park' and 'The Andromeda Strain.' )

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein based on a dream she had, and the name Frankenstein is based on a popular German surname.