Anne Eekhout

How did Mary meet her monster? Dutch author Anne Eekhout looks intensely at two pivotal time periods: June to October 1812, when a not quite fifteen year old Mary Godwin goes to Dundee, Scotland to stay at the home of the Baxter family, and four years later (May - August 1816) during the fateful visit to Byron in Geneva with Shelley and and her stepsister Claire, and where the famous ghost story challenge occurs. The novel alternates between the two locales as does the narration, from first person (Scotland) to third (Geneva). In Scotland Mary quickly bonds with members of the Baxter family, but is particularly drawn to Isabella who is very close to her own age, and whose mother has recently died. There is another Baxter daughter, Margaret, married to Mr. Booth and they live nearby. It’s all very pleasant at first, but it soon becomes clear that Mr. Booth has some sort of strange hold on the entire Baxter family. When first visiting his home Mary learns that Margaret is in a wheelchair from a fall she suffered shortly after marrying Mr. Booth. Margaret dies not long after this visit. And then there is the strange creature Mary and Isabella observe one day while rambling in the woods…

In Geneva, Mary has to contend with the awful weather, mothering her baby son, the unwanted attentions of Dr. Polidari, the jealousy (?) of Percy (Byron appears to like Mary better than him), her new grief over the death of her first child, old grief over the loss of her mother at birth and her own anger and jealousy over Percy’s emotional and most likely physical relationship to Claire. With all this going on, will she recognize that deep within her there is indeed a story to tell?

Atmospheric and lyrical, this is a beautiful (and beautifully translated) novel for lovers of all things “Frankenstein.”… (mer)