I’m reading Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. I chose this book because I just heard a podcast about the eruption of Mt. Tambora, an island in Indonesia, in 1915.
Locally:
Hot lava oozed to the sea on all sides of the mountain. The island’s entire vegetation was destroyed. The language of the Tomboran people was completely lost. Everywhere within 370 miles was in pitch darkness for 3 days.
Globally:
10-120 megatons of sulfur was released into the atmosphere. A sulfate veil called ‘dry fog’ settled over areas of the planet. It wasn’t moved by wind or rain. It dimmed the sun. Livestock and crops died all over the world.
This is why 1816 is called the ‘year without a summer’. And it was in the aftermath of this tragic disaster, in the year 1817, Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein.
