Delacorte Press, 304 pp.
Published September 25, 2018
DISCLAIMER: I received a free physical ARC of this title from the publisher for review consideration. This did not inform or influence my opinion in any way.
Elizabeth Lavenza hasn't had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her "caregiver," and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything--except a friend.
Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable--and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.
But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth's survival depends on managing Victor's dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.
Autumn is quickly filling up with delightfully dark reads! The newest stand-alone from Kiersten White lays the groundwork for an excellent re-imagining of Mary Shelley's Gothic horror masterpiece. Keeping its major themes and foreboding tone intact, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein refocuses the narrative on a trio of heroines (two of whom exist in the original story and one who does not) and deprives Victor of his sympathetic version of events. White skillfully updates this classic tale, introducing some modern perspectives without ever straying too far from the heart of the period.
Elizabeth Lavenza took up little room in Shelley's Frankenstein, introduced and then discarded as another loved one for the mad scientist to mourn. Here she takes charge of the story, a subtle check on Victor's dark curiosity and an intelligent young woman who will accept the confines of a woman's traditional role if only it would guarantee her safety. Shrewd and determined in equal measure, her attempts to rein in Victor and return him home quickly betray a conscience her friend lacks. At first fearing for his well-being, then coming to fear how his obsession may harm others, Elizabeth proves herself willing to do what is necessary to preserve her own station in life, although that does not come without mistakes and regrets.
Joining her on this twisting road are companion and governess Justine, a young woman so kind that some believe her to be simple-minded, and apprentice bookseller Mary, who knew Victor as a university student and customer. These two counterbalance a strong thread of ruthlessness in Elizabeth with their optimism and reticence, respectively. A common problem with inserting "modern" female characters into a historical setting is that they can often feel like time travelers: much too advanced in their ideas and conduct to believably exist in the era, even as a rebel. With Elizabeth and, to a lesser extent, her two companions, White integrates their growth into the story so that by the end the girls have broken free from certain constraints without removing themselves from the narrative.
Compared to the tragic figure in Frankenstein, the curious and devious Victor now appears truly mad. Through him the strongest elements of horror manifest in what is otherwise an engaging mystery. Spare parts and foul smells trail after the wayward student, whose obsession with creating life has a troubling and insatiable source.
By turns atmospheric and intimate, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein serves as a delightfully dark re-interpretation of a horror classic. White's evocative writing style immerses readers in a gloomy, unwelcoming world from the opening lines. It's easy to sympathize with the stifling sensation Elizabeth suffers as a ward of the venerable family, just as it's understandable how the constant companionship of Victor could foster her darker instincts. Shifting the focus from Victor to the women in his life is a fitting homage to Mary Shelley, whose fulfillment of a dare still elicits chills two centuries later, when contemporaries could hardly believe a woman capable of such an admirable, enduring feat.
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