The Other Frankenstein by Melissa F Olson

Publisher - NewCon press

Published – Out Now

Price – £14.99 paperback £4.99 ebook

In 1816, Elizabeth's life had been carefully planned for her. A home, a family, a life that she was trained to fill... and had never questioned if she wanted, until the future she expected was stolen from her.

In the present day, Heck's hopes and dreams have been destroyed, the life she was fighting for gone in an instant. Amid the devastation of her plans, she's determined to fight for her dreams.

Drawn together across time, Elizabeth Frankenstein and Heck Saville's parallel, intersecting stories encompass murder, loss, trauma and ultimately empowerment, in this stunning feminist reimagining of Frankenstein.

It is always interesting to consider in reading a novel whose story the book about and who is not being talked about. Authors, readers and yes us reviewers all take angles based on who we are. The pleasure of reading is when sometimes an author takes a well-loved piece of work and finds a different take or perhaps starts in their own work less the dreaded re-imagining but a conversation that should make us re-appraise what we notice in the original work. In Mellisa F Olson’s fascinating novel, The Other Frankenstein we get a tale giving us a new spin on the events of the classic tale but also a compelling modern-day tale of two very different women sharing their lives and we find unusual similarities in their tales.

Heck (real name Heqet) has used here mother’s account to book herself an urgent cruise ship to Alaska. She is in constant pain due to having Ehlers-Dahlos Syndrome which is a joint disorder that have terrifying complications. Each day she tries to avoid her mother contacting her and she writes to her daughter Madison. Heck in on a trip to meet her former lover Colin regardless of the impact on her body an academic on a research project. While there she meets an enigmatic bartender Caroline, and they strike up a promising friendship. During a swell Caroline is severely injured by a shard of glass but is in no pain and realising Heck has seen her injury she forcibly takes Heck to her room where she reveals that she is actually Elizabeth Frankenstein the wife of Victor who created the infamous creature in Shelley’s books. To an initially disbelieving Heck she tells the story of her brutal murder and how she came to be resurrected. Her new role in Heck’s life is just beginning.

Ok how many of you easily remember that Elizabeth is the name of Victor Frankenstein’s wife? Can you remember much about her apart from her murder on the night she was married? I’ve read Frankenstein a few years ago and ultimately the focus is on Victor and The Creature for good reason but this story is in dialogue with another strand of the novel that does exist but has been perhaps submerged in the ethical debates of science and  big flashy effects. That Victor’s actions and cowardice to tell anyone what he has done led to the deaths of so many people close to him who had loved him regardless of his selfish devotion to his science. What I loved about Olson’s tale is we get Elizabeth front and centre and here we get the tale from her perspective. The horrible murders going on around her, a friend being executed for a crime she did not commit and then her own horrific murder we realise what she felt and see Victor hiding it all from people he could perhaps have saved. Being told in first person gives these scenes a lot of emotional impact and then comes Olson’s spin what if the Creature resurrected Elizabeth to effectively be his bride?

Again these plotlines playswith a part of the Frankenstein canon albeit the movie version but whereas The Bride too is quite unforgettable she is nameless and could be argued not having any agency at all in the movie. Olson uses the concept of this new Adam wanting his Eve but rather than a gothic castle it is actually her awakening to life finding herself a prisoner in a remote location. The Creature used what he knew of Victor’s Experiments but unknowingly he has brought Elizabeth to life with all her memories intact. There are tense scenes of cat and mouse as Elizabeth tries to fool the creature into thinking she is as initially mindless as he once was in order to avoid his attentions, but Elizabeth soon realises that as well as having now no reaction to pain and rapid healing she also has his immense strength. What follows is an exciting set of scenes as Elizabeth escapes, but danger and tragedy also surround her. There isa regular theme of women in dangerous situations caused by men being explored and Elizabeth now calling herself Caroline trying to stop the creature creating any more brides to torment. Its very well told and as a way of highlighting the themes that are in the novel but not one many male critics perhaps have decided to explore make this work well.

If this was purely Caroline’s story this would be already a good novel to read but we also have our modern-day character of Heck who is equally fascinating in a more low-key way. She is more than simply a reflection to the undead strong woman being a woman who body regularly fails her. Heck, we find in her stories is a very intelligent funny woman with a memory for anything being said and yet her relationship with Colin is all-encompassing her thoughts. We slowly piece together through her letters to madison what may be happening beneath the surface and that is beautifully but painfully revealed and here is where the storylines neatly echo each other as we find another tale of a woman whose love for someone has been taken for granted. This time though Heck finds she has an ally who has her own ways to test what is going on. These turns are satisfyingly explored.

The one issue I had is the finale of the book is quite fast and I would not have minded watching a bit more of what happened to Eliabeth and Heck in their respective stories before we meet up with them one final time. Instead, we have a fast chapter explaining things which feels a little too exposition for my tastes. For a novel with lots of parallels to Frankenstein’s formats – a stranger on a ship, diary entries and flashbacks perhaps bringing Mary Shelley herself into the mix was a tribute too far although I liked how Olson again fleshed out her own character and motivations for getting involved but part of me suspected if Frankenstein was actually alive at the time a few people would have used this story to find the real truth of matters by now.

Regardless of those bugbears I hugely enjoyed this intelligent and inventive story in dialogue with a classic tale and while being respectful of it has its own impressive spin on events which also has a message for so many people in toxic relationships today. Escape is possible. I highly recommend this and will be watching for more work from Olson in the future.