Frankenstein is an 1818 novel by Mary Shelley that was republished in 1831 in a more widely read edition. It is often considered to be the first science fiction novel because of how it combines real scientific research with some speculative elements. The novel also has elements of the horror and gothic genres. Shelley originally wrote the novel as part of a friendly competition to see who could write the best scary story. Mary's husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, Romantic poet Lord Byron, and Byron's doctor John Polidori were the other authors included in the competition. Polidori notably wrote a novella called The Vampyre, which was one of the first examples of vampire fiction ever written. Shelley's novel is by far the most famous and enduring piece of writing to come from that competition, and it is still widely read today. Frankenstein is a pioneering work of science fiction and gothic horror.