Created in the 19th Century.

The 19th century is where the DNA of modern adventure fiction crystallized. Gothic horror, scientific romance, detective fiction, and proto–science fiction all took shape here. These characters aren’t just early entries — they are the bedrock myths that every Golden Age hero stands on. This page lists the relevant creations in the public domain.

Already in the Public Domain (Created the 19th Century)

Dr. Victor Frankenstein
Created in 1818 in the novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Frankenstein, Artist Theodor von Holst, William Chevalier, 1831

Frankenstein's Creature
Created in 1818 in the novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein's Creature is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Frankenstein, Artist Theodor von Holst, William Chevalier, 1831

Captain Nemo
Created in 1870 in the novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Captain Nemo is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Captain Nemo On Top of The Nautilus by Alphonse Marie Adolphe De Neuville, 1836

Allan Quartermain
Created in 1885 in the novel, King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard, Allan Quartermain is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Maiwa's Revenge, Chapter VII, by Thure de Thulstrup

Sherlock Holmes
Created in 1887 in the novel, A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Sherlock Holmes at Reichenbach Falls, by Frederick Dorr Steele, cover of Collier's Weekly, September 26, 1903

Dr. John Watson
Created in 1887 in the novel, A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, Dr. John Watson is firmly in the public domain.
Image: The Greek Interpreter, by Sidney Paget, which appeared in The Strand Magazine in September, 1893.

The Time Machine
First published in 1895, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is firmly in the public domain.
Image: "The Time Machine", by Norman Saunders, published in the magazine Famous Fantastic Mysteries; August 1950.

Dr. Moreau
Created in 1896 in the novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells, Dr. Moreau is firmly in the public domain.
Image: A.I. Generated "Sinister Island In The Distance" 2025.

The Invisible Man
First published in 1897, the novel, The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Moebius Models kit, built and painted by James Richardson 2024.
For illustration purposes.

Count Dracula
Created in 1897 in the novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Count Dracula is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Book cover (1916, Rider & Son, London) of Dracula novel by Bram Stoker (1897), artist unknown.

Mina Harker
Created in 1897 in the novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Mina Harker is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Book cover (1916, Rider & Son, London) of Dracula novel by Bram Stoker (1897), artist unknown.

Abraham Van Helsing
Created in 1897 in the novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Abraham Van Helsing is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Book cover (1916, Rider & Son, London) of Dracula novel by Bram Stoker (1897), artist unknown.

War of the Worlds
First published in 1898, the novel, War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Martian Fighting Machine in the Thames Valley, Henrique Alvim Corrêa, from The War of the Worlds, Belgium edition, 1906

Pre-1900s: Context & Fun Facts

• The birth of the “super-scientist.”
  Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells essentially invented the archetype of the brilliant but ethically questionable genius. Frankenstein, Nemo, and Moreau are the blueprint for every mad or misunderstood scientist to follow.
• Gothic horror becomes the first shared universe.
  Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man, Jekyll and Hyde, and later War of the Worlds often crossed paths in early stage adaptations and penny dreadful mashups — long before Marvel and DC made crossovers cool.
• Sherlock Holmes codifies the “masked detective” DNA.
  Holmes gave pulp the “super-competent investigator” playbook. Everything from The Shadow to Batman traces back to Baker Street.
• Victorian sci-fi was weirder (and bolder) than modern sci-fi
  Wells was doing time travel, vivisection horror, invisibility physics, alien invasion, and dystopia decades before radio existed. Without Wells, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, John Carter, and the PDSH’s “House of Entropy” simply don’t exist.
• These characters never fell out of print.
  Unlike most pulp heroes, the 19th-century icons have been adapted continuously across film, radio, comics, stage, and television for over 120 years. They’re evergreen IP in the truest sense.