Frankenstein, but with dinosaurs. A descendant of Victor Frankenstein, Mary finds a copy of a letter sent to her grandfather detailing Victor’s final tale to the Arctic ship’s captain. Together with her husband she tries to recreate Victor’s experiments to bring a creature to life who will prove their theories of a marine dinosaur.

 

Darkly gripping, emotional, wildly imaginative and yet grounded, this is a brilliant take on Frankenstein. 

 

The main character Mary’s anger and frustration about how she is held back by the circumstances of her illegitimate birth, her husband’s self-destructive tendencies, and how she isn’t recognised for her scientific contributions/potential because she’s a woman, underline the entire book. Unwilling or unable to hide her anger she is further ostracised from the scientific community.

 

And from a modern perspective it’s hard not to get frustrated on Mary’s behalf that she doesn’t get the opportunities she deserves. When she is surrounded by men who make far more emotional and stupid decisions, but still have more autonomy and respect than she gets. Even to the extent of being able to diminish and deny her credit for the scientific discoveries which would have been impossible without her.

 

A great read.