This is a gothic historical horror novel, featuring an unconventional female protagonist. TW for animal cruelty, murder and implied sexual assault. Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein. A brilliant scientist in her own right, she is married to Henry, a geologist. The story follows the two collaborating on papers together (with Mary credited only as an illustrator, not as an equal contributor) as they struggle to make a name for themselves within the scientific community. The story also deals with grief, primarily with Mary and Henry and the loss of their child. McGill’s observations about the patriarchal expectation that women have an innate desire for motherhood and childrearing are astute, cutting right to the core of the issue. To put it simply, I would describe this book as a dark academia sapphic historical romance crossing a female protagonist that challenges the status quo with the “mad scientist” trope (a la Promethean Horrors edited by Xavier Aldana Reyes). The character archetypes of the primary sapphic relationship reminded me of The Handmaiden (which makes sense considering that was adapted from a Victorian historical fiction novel, set around the same time). 

The plot twists are another positive. I was genuinely surprised at the direction of the narrative climax (AKA the final battle) and preferred it to the alternative, as in how the characters originally planned to resolve the issue. I definitely underestimated McGill and I’m glad they committed to that ending because it feels a lot more cathartic. Getting justice any other way would have felt cheap. 

This work is extremely intertextual, directly referencing the story of Frankenstein within the narrative. This worked for me, but it may not for those who are less keen on academia and the study of literature from this time period. McGill also inserts quotations before each chapter. These are either from Frankenstein or alternatively from Percy Shelley and Lord Byron’s poetry, as well as other contemporary writings, such as pertains to the science explored in the novel. These quotes have direct narrative significance and people may lose out on the novel’s intricacies without knowledge of these literary topics. Also, the quotes may take the reader out of the story as it breaks up the flow. It gets meta which can be confusing. It is also very slow paced. Again, not necessarily a negative but readers should keep in mind that it is a slow crawl before a singularly explosive moment releases the tension. It would definitely benefit from a reread after researching referenced material. This would lead the reader to be better equipped to understand the subversive and transformative value this novel creates through retelling AKA a form of ‘translation.’ 

Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday and Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.