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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"Very good book with the author injecting the student Victor Frankenstein in the world of Percy Shelley, Lord Bryon, Dr. Polidori and of course Mary Shelley. Enjoyed the author's faux science behind creating life. However flawed it is - it indeed is written in a way which sounds like it would work!" — Wayne (4 out of 5 stars)
"Very good book with the author injecting the student Victor Frankenstein in the world of Percy Shelley, Lord Bryon, Dr. Polidori and of course Mary Shelley. Enjoyed the author's faux science behind creating life. However flawed it is - it indeed is written in a way which sounds like it would work!"
“An entertaining and bracingly intelligent yarn.”
“From its opening…to its last, gasp-inducing page, Ackroyd has imbued his book with enough ‘electrical fluid’ to animate a corpse.”
“[The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein] will enhance your knowledge of the original version, and it may give you nightmares…A tale told again and again, it still casts a spell.”
“A tribute to one of the great Gothic stories of all time…[A] surprise ending…makes the reader reconsider the entire plot. It’s a fascinating twist, updating the Frankenstein legend with a spritz of Freud.”
“The novel has a subtle texture, swift prose, and the author’s customary panache…Ackroyd offers some tasty literary, biographical, historical, and geographical snacks…Casebook is partly about narrative itself, about points of view and the protean nature of truth.”
“Most satisfying…This fast-paced, most readable novel is charged with electricity and enchanting mischief.”
“A modern retelling that intelligently restores the story’s relevance…It’s the meaningfulness that Ackroyd has brought back to life that matters.”
“Ackroyd’s writing style and attention to detail complements Mary Shelley’s classic novel and fuels an utterly believable vision…This captivating tale would work in its own right, or read as a companion piece to amplify the themes and questions raised in Shelley’s.”
“Ackroyd loves taking what we, the general reading public, think we know about great writers, only to twist that knowledge into new fictional shapes…He is the great pretzel-baker of contemporary fiction. And this is one of his tastiest, and twistiest, products so far.”
“A brilliant jeu d’esprit…Fiendishly clever…The background is meticulously researched, with fascinating incidental detail.”
“Peter Akcroyd’s new novel works on so many levels, it’s difficult to know where to begin. As pacy thriller, it delivers assured, edge-of-seat, action. As historical fiction, it abounds in authentic detail…As homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, it brings both invention and wit.”
" I'm sad I can't give this 3.5 stars. The story was engaging in that way that it was a trainwreck you couldn't look away from. I ejoyed the closing plot twist, which I did not see coming. My only complaint was that there was not enough Mary Shelley and some of the characters were not fully realized, though given the ending, I can understand why. The ending itself, however, was terribly abrupt. "
" Loved this book so much a review will be coming. I need to go and discuss this book at the Sandwich in Group. Thank you brenda for finding such a cool book. "
" An interesting riff on the Frankenstein story peppered with early 19th century personalities, including Percy Bysshe Shelley as best friend to the troubled young Frankenstein. Fun characterization of Lord Byron as a real prick, and a nice gotcha ending. Not the best writing, but it held my interest and entertained. "
" Well. Much creepier than Shelley's original Frankenstein, which I didn't think possible. (shudder) Ugh. BUT I do think I will be reading more of Ackroyd's stuff - I enjoy it when authors flesh out classics or factual events with a fictional story. "
" Simply could not get through it. Too labored a read. "
" Definitely prefer a less chatty monster. "
" Started out reading this for class, then I was reading it for fun ... Then the twist at the end happened and I felt like I'd just watched that movie with Johnny Depp, The Window or whatever. I wasn't quite as bad, but almost. The thing that saves the book from its own ending is the fact that it's a retelling of a story that makes more sense than the original - as my teacher said, he couldn't get over the original monster learning to read by watching a child being taught how to read through a window. Since the author is critically acclaimed enough for me to have read this book in class, I think that changed the way I read it in that I was expecting some conclusions on the historical characters Ackroyd uses - that was silly of me. "
" Literary piffle with a cop out ending,,,,,,,,,,,,,bring on the monsters "
" A gutsy failure, which seems appropriate. "
" Not quite what I was hoping for and unfortunately, a little disappointing. Ackroyd's modern, psychological approach to Frankenstein is interesting, but the twist in the myth left me cold and there is little here for a Frankenstein fan that in my opinion, Shelley does much better. "
" Well written. But I don't see the point of the exercise. "
" I enjoyed this retelling of this classic and honestly I did not expect to. I figured the story would be predictable and cardboard but instead it was intriguing and captivating. Perhaps going with low expectations made this better but I found this to be a great read. "
" First one read on iphone...fine experience at all levels. "
" This is well-written, but I found the characterisation bland. I could not bring myself to care for any of the characters and so did not find the book particularly enjoyable. I think it is a good book, however little I enjoyed it. "
" At times a bit slow, but in general nice and suspenseful. Great ending! I am curious about the real Frankenstein now... "
" Loved the infused London history and places. This book is stellar with a great twist at the end. Don't expect Frankenstein rewritten. Expect an excellent London book. "
" A twist on the classic tale iwth lots of nods to literary figures of the times "
" Very good. Written to reflect the period. Overall tone and language in keeping with the period. Descriptions of Frankenstein's experiments very creepy. Makes me want to reread Shelley....guess that's the sign of a good book, right? It leaves you looking for more. "
" A dark, intense novel (more for adults). Infinitely interesting, even if you haven't read the original story, but even more fun if you have. This is not a cheerful-pick-me-up book, but it is a good one. Highly recommended. "
" The book was really easy to read and was pretty fun to read. The end was pretty surprising but didn't knock me off my feet. All in all it is a good book. I like this new spin on a very old classic. "
" Through most of this book I was bored. It didn't really get interesting to me until about half way through. Nice twist at the ending though ... "
" I liked parts of this a lot but in the end liked the book less than I thought I would. Made me want to read more about Shelley though. "
" An interesting and highly readable take on the Frankenstein story, but the back-cover blurb gives away the denouement. For fans of Simmons's "Drood" or of resurrection men, or of old London more generally. "
" This was an extremely boring book with an incredible ending. It's almost worth reading the first 250 pages to get to the last one. "
" A retelling of the Frankenstein story that manages to live up to the original. It reads more like historical fiction than gothic horror, and the author puts his own spin on the monster that prevents this from being a mere re-tread of the original tale. "
" Ackroyd has captured the mood and style of the original book and put his own spin on the story. A good old-fashioned book that you could escape into. "
" A great retelling of the Frankenstein story laced with gothic horror and Peter Ackroyd draws on his extensive knowledge to create a vivid portrayal of early nineteenth century London. "
Peter Ackroyd has written acclaimed biographies of T. S. Eliot, Dickens, Blake, and Sir Thomas More, as well as several successful novels. He has won the Whitbread Book Award for Biography, the Royal Society of Literature’s W. H. Heinemann Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award, and the South Bank Show Award for Literature.
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.
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