The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd is a bold reimagining of Mary Shelley's classic novel, told from the perspective of Victor Frankenstein himself. The book follows Victor's journey from his university days in Ingolstadt to his encounters with Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and Dr. Polidori in Oxford and London. Ackroyd weaves together historical themes, scientific discoveries, and the gothic atmosphere of early 19th-century London to create a rich and rewarding reading experience. The narrative style draws readers into Frankenstein's sick mind, offering insights into his complex relationships and interactions with the literary figures of the time.
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Content warnings include themes of reanimation, death, and violence associated with grave robbing and scientific experimentation.
From The Publisher:
When two nineteenth-century Oxford students-Victor Frankenstein, a serious researcher, and the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley-form an unlikely friendship, the result is a tour de force that could only come from one of the world's most accomplished and prolific authors.
This haunting and atmospheric novel opens with a heated discussion, as Shelley challenges the conventionally religious Frankenstein to consider his atheistic notions of creation and life. Afterward, these concepts become an obsession for the young scientist. As Victor begins conducting anatomical experiments to reanimate the dead, he at first uses corpses supplied by the coroner. But these specimens prove imperfect for Victor's purposes. Moving his makeshift laboratory to a deserted pottery factory in Limehouse, he makes contact with the Doomsday men-the resurrectionists-whose grisly methods put Frankenstein in great danger as he works feverishly to bring life to the terrifying creature that will bear his name for eternity.
Filled with literary lights of the day such as Bysshe Shelley, Godwin, Lord Byron, and Mary Shelley herself, and penned in period-perfect prose, The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein is sure to become a classic of the twenty-first century.
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About the Author:
PETER ACKROYD is the author of many novels, including the Somerset Maugham Award-winning "Last Testament of Oscar Wilde";" Hawksmoor," which was named""the Whitbread Novel of the Year and won the Guardian Fiction Prize; and "Chatterton," which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He has also penned acclaimed biographies of T. S. Eliot, Charles Dickens, William Blake, and others. He lives in London.
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