I love retellings that bring something fresh and unexpected to the story, and McGill delivers on this nicely with her paleontological lens. She deviates in wonderful ways, but there are also some wonderful Easter eggs. For example, Mary dreams on the golden eye of her creation, mirroring the original Mary’s dream that sparked the story. The Promethean references Mary and Henry make to stealing fire from God make this nerdy book lover’s heart sing. Some of the novel’s earliest readers reacted violently to its implicit atheism: one called it “the foulest Toadstool that has yet sprung up from the reeking dunghill of the present times.” But, as others have pointed out, Frankenstein’s intention is not to compete with the divine but to be useful to humanity: he hopes to ultimately eliminate diseases such as those which killed Shelley’s mother and children. And he creates only a single being. “If this is a blasphemous crime, then all parents stand condemned for it too,” one “Frankenstein” scholar has written. Besides previous scientific discoveries and paradigms, the story was also centred around the position of women in science, featuring Mary in an almost activist-y role. It was aggravating to see how her knowledge and intelligence was constantly undermined, ridiculed and shoved aside, and how her position became more and more vulnerable each day. It was maddening to see how men were favoured in high societies, just for gender reasons, and although I myself have not experienced this first-hand, I felt the rage in Mary’s narration, and it has been long since I lived through a fictional character so vicariously. Years ago, Mary’s great uncle—dropout medical student Victor Frankenstein—disappeared in the Arctic. Now, in 1853, she and her husband Henry live in London, struggling to make a name for themselves as paleontologists. When Mary - a scientist struggling to make her mark in 1850s London - discovers journals belonging to her great-uncle, Victor Frankenstein, she embarks on what might be the greatest adventure of all....

The addition of diverse characters, including queer characters and an individual coping with chronic illness, enriches the narrative tapestry, infusing it with contemporary relevance. Mary's complexity is accentuated by her sharp intellect and unapologetic nature, making her a compelling and relatable protagonist. The intricate relationships and interplay between the characters, particularly Mary and her volatile husband Henry, create a palpable tension that drives the narrative forward, making for an enthralling Victorian gothic novel that captures the essence of its source material while introducing fresh perspectives and poignant contemporary themes. Characters: They definitely weren’t all lovable, bu they were real. Mary was so witty and easy to root for, Henry was INFURIATING, and Maisie was super sweet (plus that chronic illness rep!!) A gripping Gothic tale of grief and ambition, passion and intrigue' JESS KIDD, author of THE NIGHT SHIP After these tragedies, Shelley developed an intense friendship with Jane Williams, the widow of a friend who had drowned with Percy. Recalling these years in a letter to a friend in 1835, Shelley confessed that, after Percy died, she was “ready to give myself away—and being afraid of men, I was apt to get tousy-mousy for women” (a reference to sex). In the travel book “Rambles in Germany and Italy’’ (1844), Shelley’s final published work, she wrote of the art she had encountered and argued that artists should not be condemned for depicting homosexual love—“a bold stance that was anathema to most Victorians,” Charlotte Gordon argues in “Romantic Outlaws,” her dual biography of Shelley and her mother, the writer and political activist Mary Wollstonecraft. Gordon describes the real-life Isabella Baxter and Mary Shelley as sharing a mutual admiration for Booth—feared by neighbors for his “prodigious store of arcane knowledge,” but also for his radical politics—and writes that Shelley encouraged Baxter to marry him after her sister’s death. In Eekhout’s novel, these events play out differently. But, in its philosophy, this fictional excavation of a lesser-known episode in Shelley’s life feels true to her memory.

In this gothic adventure, debut novelist McGill builds on Shelley's iconic story by adding sharp-minded female protagonist Mary, who sets out to discover the truth about her great-uncle Victor Frankenstein's disappearance in the Arctic. STYLIST, 'The best new feminist retellings of classic stories to read in 2023' Witty, dark and sharp as a scalpel...brilliantly captures what it's like to be a woman in a man's world' LIZZIE POOK, author of MOONLIGHT AND THE PEARLER'S DAUGHTER So. This is supposed to be a queer feminist retelling of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". We follow Victor Frankenstein's great-niece, Mary, in 1853 London. Mary and her husband are struggling financially and professionally. But Mary believes that she has found something about her great-uncle's disappearance that can help them change the world of science.

Content warnings: misogyny (challenged), homophobia (challenged), sexual assault, murder, racism (challenged) With what we see of Mary’s childhood and isolated upbringing with her grandmother (a woman who seemed to despise Mary simply for existing) I couldn’t help but be endeared to her (and root for her to succeed.) Though sexual relationships between women were not criminalized, women whose romantic inclinations defied the heterosexual standard generally faced a choice between repressing their desires and living as outcasts. Was Mary Shelley herself such a woman? The Dutch novelist Anne Eekhout suggests as much in “ Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein” (HarperVia), a reimagining of both Mary’s early life and the period during which she wrote her famous novel. Regardless of whether her biography confirms that designation—and at least one late relationship suggests that it does—Eekhout’s book, together with two other recent novels that expand the contours of Shelley’s life, offers a bold new framing for questions about where we draw lines: between queerness and heterosexuality, the natural and the unnatural, and the imaginary and the real.A fantastic read: I felt everything about Mary, her simmering anger and her intellectual delight' FREYA MARSKE, author of THE LAST BINDING trilogy Imagine Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein but with a feminist main character. This take on Frankenstein is not some fantastical “women were impervious to the 19th century patriarchal norm”, no, the author embraced that notion and introduced Mary Elizabeth, a character that showed the readers how she was ‘bloody but unbowed’ by the pressures societal standards and etiquette.

A gripping Gothic tale of grief and ambition, passion and intrigue.” — Jess Kidd, author of The Night Ship Who suddenly has an epiphany one day. Who decides to look into Victor Frankenstein's work and research and when she discovers... An immersive blend of historical and science fiction brims with surprises and dark delights. . . . An incisive exploration of women’s rights within the field of science. . . . Readers will revel in Mary’s personal and scientific discoveries and root for her to succeed in an unfair world.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) McGill's prose is rich and atmospheric, perfectly capturing the eerie and foreboding tone of the Gothic tradition. The characters are complex and layered . . . Our Hideous Progeny is a masterful work of Gothic horror that will leave readers on the edge of their seat. GLAMOUR

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The author’s writing prowess is, doubtlessly and indisputably Beluga caviar. The ease in which the author told a story fraught with ancient scientific fossilised animal bones and petticoat just felt like downing a cold beverage in a hot summer’s time. The queerness was a whisper yet enough to sustain the story and not overpower the main plot. And that there is the beauty of the author’s power. C.E. McGill’s richly detailed and utterly compelling debut was a deliciously gothic and feminist exploration of ambition, obsession, betrayal and love that I couldn’t get enough of!

Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein. She knows her great uncle disappeared in mysterious circumstances in the Arctic but she doesn't know why or how...

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Mary wants to be known for her scientific mind, but as a woman in the 1850s, this is going to be so much more difficult than it would be for a man. She works alongside her geologist husband, Henry, but without money or connections, their options are limited. The 1850s is a time of discovery and London is ablaze with the latest scientific theories and debates, especially when a spectacular new exhibition of dinosaur sculptures opens at the Crystal Palace. Mary, with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, is keen to make her name in this world of science, alongside her geologist husband Henry, but without wealth and connections, their options are limited.