The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter

DNF. The format was weird with random script format dialogue and jumping around in timeline. If it was written in “normal” format I would have enjoyed this a lot more as the writing seemed decent, but I hate scripts and it was frustrating to have to be taken out of the story for some weird t??te-??-t??te between the writer and the main character.

3.5
This first edition of the series sets up the world-building, characters, and backstories which felt like a lot. The interruptions were jarring at first, but I got used to them and even enjoyed them over time. About halfway through the action takes off. The action was fun and love the cast of characters. I think I will continue in the series.

An absolute joy, and a very special series.

This is a novel that is unlike any other and which works on many levels, written by a very talented and extremely well read author. I've been struggling with how to write a review of this book, and I have come to the conclusion that I can't - the book ... “operates”... on too many levels and ways, so I've decided to write several reviews considering it with different hats on.

I'll work in order of least impressive to most.

A Sequel to Jekyll and Hyde

Yes, that's right. This is the story of Mary Jekyll dealing with the situation following the mysterious loss of her father and subsequent death of her mother.

Most people know the phrase “Jekyll and Hyde”. Not so many people have read the book. It's not what you may think. From childhood I had some sort of idea that Hyde was basically The Incredible Hulk...possibly wearing a top hat. The actual book is brilliantly written and asks deep questions about our characters and about society.

Ms Goss is taking a risk following up this book. Can she make a worthy successor that makes you question your assumptions about society?

Yes.

This is not a “Monster Horror Book”, this is a book that makes you question what monsters are, and what horror is (while she's at it she even raises the question of what a book is). This book looks at the dark underbelly of Victorian London during the Whitechapel Murders, it looks in the back alleys, the orphanages and the lunatic asylums. It also looks at the well-to-do ladies who were prisoners of their positions and who were forced to rely utterly on men - always a hair's breadth from ruin.

Just like in the original, it manages to pull you through all of that with a great mystery keeping those pages turning.


A Sherlock Holmes Pastiche

In this sense this book just rocks.

Sherlock Holmes is not the main character, though he's a very important part of the book.

Now I've read a huge chunk of Mr Holmes recently and I've found that reading Sherlock Holmes pastiches (aka fanfic) is infuriating. Authors often grab onto one aspect of Mr Holmes and run with it, resulting in one-dimensional cold robots, know it alls, or zany hyperactive psychos.

That's not Mr Holmes.

Theodora Goss really knows Sherlock Holmes. I don't mean that she knows all the dates, details and mustache measurements of every minor character (though she seems to have a pretty good grasp of that). I mean that she seems to have a feel for the soul of the great consulting detective.

When Goss' Sherlock says or does something - it feels real. That is exactly how Sherlock would act.

By the end of this book Ms Goss had beaten down my defenses. This was the real Sherlock, and if I ever find out that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle discovered the secret of immortality - I know whose basement he's hiding in.

A Voice for the Women of 19th Century Fiction

There was a lot of great books in the 19th Century. Mary Shelley, HG Wells and others came up with excellent tales that made you question what you knew while keeping you on the edge of your seat.

These stories had women in them, interesting women...women who tended to drop dead before they could do much of any interest.

What Ms Goss does in this book is to imagine what “really happened”. All of these books were told from a point of view - a letter, a report, a diary. As such it only told what the author knew, believed or wanted the reader to think. There would be other views. Ms Goss allows those characters to tell their side, and gives them room to grow.

Ms Goss does this wonderfully.

This means that many 19th Century novels are “true” in the world of The Athena Club (a world I'm coming to think of as the Goss-verse). While I think it's an excellent idea to read all these books first, it's not totally required - though I think it would add hugely to your enjoyment.

I'm including this list in spoiler tags in case you don't want any hints as to plot lines or characters:
Core to the first book:[b:The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|51496|The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1318116526l/51496._SY75_.jpg|3164921][b:Frankenstein|35031085|Frankenstein|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498841231l/35031085._SY75_.jpg|4836639][b:The Island of Dr. Moreau|29981|The Island of Doctor Moreau|H.G. Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388230211l/29981._SY75_.jpg|68894][b:Rappacini's Daughter|13556043|Rappaccini's Daughter|Nathaniel Hawthorne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417846952l/13556043._SY75_.jpg|1189453]Also useful:[b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245._SY75_.jpg|3165724][b:The Great God Pan|774846|The Great God Pan|Arthur Machen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1223635929l/774846._SY75_.jpg|760887][b:She: A History of Adventure|682681|She A History of Adventure (She, #1)|H. Rider Haggard|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388347922l/682681._SY75_.jpg|2334644]I'm sure there are many others that have slipped my mind or that I've just plain missed.As mentioned earlier, Sherlock Holmes is also real in this series, so reading a bit of Sherlock Holmes is also very useful. Recommending Holmes stories is for another time however.

An Experiment In Narrative Style

This book is written as a Victorian Novel, and it works very well as that. However at points in the text the narrative account is broken into by voices written in a playscript-style format. These voices comment on events, the narration and the writing style, they even bicker among themselves. It is clear from the start that at least some of these voices are characters from the story.

My first impression was “This is weird”. My linear-thinking brain had difficulty imagining a situation in which the “Author” would be including these comments in the text, especially as the narration clearly assumes you've read the comments.

This is an experimental form of writing that takes a while to get used to - but it is worth it.

It adds a depth to the characters that is really hard to explain - it sounds cliche or sound-bitey but it gives the characters a voice.

I still remember struggling to get used to reading books in present tense or in first person. This is the same sort of thing, once you've gotten over the initial unfamiliarity it clicks, the benefit is obvious and you wonder why you had a problem in the first place.

Also some of those comments are just really funny.

Conclusion

So so good.

An absolute joy, and a very special series.

Theodora Goss, if you wrote a thousand more like this, I would be delighted.

i had trouble connecting with this story from the start, and I think it's honestly just a case of too many references. The concept of women taking back early science fiction literature is a very appealing idea, and I think if Goss had chosen one of her characters, or even just Mary and Diana, I would have enjoyed it more. However, the epic cast from four monster novels plus Sherlock and Watson plus a bunch of Dracula references which only seem to be there to lead the readers in the sequel, left it feeling contrived. Additionally, none of the characters really feel like real people, all a little too perfect even in their flaws. It's especially hard to believe when it comes to Diana Hyde, who only seems to listen to her id when it comes to eating and precocious banter. i like references, but in the end this book was just fine. It never really pulled me in any emotional direction.

What a fascinating premise–all of the monster stories of the Victorian era in one universe led by a group of women and Sherlock Holmes. This book has the perfect premise for a Netflix original show. It's witty and fun.

The climax could have been stronger and faster paced, however, the Sherlock Holmes vibes were strong in this book, in that you could tell it was setting up more books and adventures. I could almost here the “Chase is On” theme from BBC's Sherlock as the young Ms. Jekyll smiles into the camera with her friends and new club members around her.

The inclusion of multiple “authors” interrupting the narrative to talk about how she is “writing” the story was an interesting choice. I can see why it would be frustrating to some, however, to me, it added to the depth and to the respect and fun of the source material. The main character is the daughter of Dr. Jekyll, who transforms into Mr. Hyde and loses control. With the inclusion of multiple narrators, the daughter, who is one of the few who does not have a "power" based on the original tale, becomes similar to that of the original character of Dr. Jekyll as others interrupt her and she can conflicting voices telling her to do things.

The book is not super exciting. Some of the characters are flat and a bit boring other than being from their original story. For these reasons, it's 3 stars.

The alchemist in question being Dr. Jekyll. The basic conceit of the book is that various works of Victorian fiction actually happened, although often with some amendment to their original plots. Most of the novels used as source material are well-known; while I confess that I've only actually read Dracula in the original form, I'm familiar enough with all but one of the others from film adaptations and the like to get the references. And, even if you're not, this novel summarises the salient parts in chapter-length flashbacks anyway.

Aside from this basic idea, there are two particular points about the book that are worth making. Firstly, while Holmes and Watson are also major characters, the book is primarily about a group of disparate women and their growing camaraderie in the face of not only the obvious threat, but also the expectations of Victorian society.

The second notable feature is that the main characters frequently interrupt the narrative, switching to first person to elaborate on what's happening, ask questions of one another, or even argue with the narrator. This is an unusual literary device, but one that I, at least, found effective, often providing a source of humour that offsets some of the horror elements. Other readers may, I fully concede, find it irritating, taking them out of the plot.

The story concerns a series of grisly murders, and does include mention of, for example, prostitution. Despite this, while I wouldn't myself describe it as a YA novel, it does have a similar style in some respects, with the horror and gore underplayed, no sexual content, and very little swearing (well, Diana evidently swears a lot, but the narrator generally refuses to quote her verbatim). It's mostly a fun and upbeat book, despite some fairly dark elements here and there.

In fact, the story is as much about the women and their individual backgrounds as it is about the central mystery. Since those backgrounds all involve various mad scientists the book can fairly be described as either fantasy or science fiction - depending on your view of, for example, Jekyll's formula. It isn't, to be fair, particularly deep, but I found it to be an enjoyable read, with well-written characters and a good mix of action and investigation.

Ik heb deze als audioboek gelezen en in het begin snapte ik niet zo echt wat er gebeurde in de vertelstijl. Eenmaal ik het echter door had, vond ik het absoluut briljant!
Het is geschreven als een verslag van wat er gebeurde, door de meisjes zelf, die het hele verhaal door kibbelen. Eén van hen nam het op zich dit boek te schrijven en de andere meisjes komen op hun beurt regelmatig aandraven met hun meningen en commentaar. Dit is niet alleen met momenten hilarisch, maar het geeft bovendien een bijkomende diepgang aan de personages, om hen zo in alledaagse interacties te zien en niet alleen in de hitte van de strijd.

“CATHERINE: I can't write from Diana's point of view.MARY: Of course you can. You're a writer; you can write anything. Just find your inner Diana.CATHERINE: I don't have an inner Diana.DIANA: Ha! You wish. Everyone has an inner Diana.”

En dan die personages!
Eerst en vooral werd ik echt verrast door het opduiken van Sherlock Holmes en Dr. Watson (ik lees zelden en achterflap of zelden helemaal) en de manier waarop dit is gedaan is echt één van de beste heruitvindingen van deze personages die ik al las. Het geeft een extra laag aan Sherlock, waardoor je als lezer meer begrip en inzicht krijgt in zijn karakter, wat ik in de originele boeken vaak vond ontbreken.
Daarnaast zijn de tal van kiekeboe-referenties naar klassieke gothic novels echt fenomenaal! Je moet niet bekend zijn met deze verhalen om dit boek te kunnen lezen, maar als je ze kent dan zijn de kleine inslagen van herkenning absoluut een meerwaarde. Bovendien bracht het tijdens het lezen een extra gevoel van anticipatie mee, want ik vroeg met constant af of bepaalde personages en/of gebeurtenissen ook een vermelding zouden gaan krijgen en vooral hoe de auteur dit ging doen.

En hoe de auteur het deed om al die elementen samen te weven in niet alleen een coherent, maar ook extreem origineel en fascinerend plot, is echt ontzagwekkend. De manier waarop de canon van Frankenstein verbonden wordt met die van o.a. Dr. Moreau en Jeckyl & Hyde, waauw, petje af!

Ik ben reuzebenieuwd hoe deze serie verder gaat, want zoals een goede serie betaamd, gaf het einde van dit boek niet alleen voldoening over hoe het conflict werd opgelost, het slaagde er ook in om een nieuw element te introduceren dat mij super benieuwd en opgewonden maakt om verder te lezen!

Executive Summary: This was alright, if you like well-written fan fiction and/or are a big fan of all the classic monster story elements she used as a basis. I just didn't seem to like it as much as others.Full ReviewReading this year has been a real struggle for me. My audiobook consumption is about the same, but my actual reading is way down. I found my last book a slog to get through. The description of this one didn't do much for me, so I opted to borrow it from the library rather than buying it, and unfortunately audio wasn't an option, because it has a fantastic narrator [a:Kate Reading 494654 Kate Reading https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1442464911p2/494654.jpg]. Maybe if I had, I'd have liked it a bit more.The style is a bit strange. We're apparently reading the story of the woman of the book who are in turn writing the story we're reading about their own exploits. Or at least one of them is, while all the rest are constantly interrupting her narrative/telling their own story in a dedicated chapter for each character. It's an interesting writing style. I think if I liked the characters more, I'd have enjoyed the creativity more.This was definitely a light, fast read. I did take a few days here and there without reading, but when I did sit down I found it easy to read a chapter or two, and never felt like things were bogged down.I'm a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, but I'm much less familiar with all the other story elements she used. I almost feel like Holmes himself was superfluous. The woman of the book (all daughters of famous characters now in the public domain) were more than capable of carrying the story on their own.This book felt like a lot of setup. There was a central mystery of a sort at it's center, but mostly it told the story of how they all came to be together, and set the stage for the next book.I thought overall it was fine, but not enough that I'll probably pick up the next one. It was definitely a good choice for an October read with all the monster elements, but it just wasn't quite my type of book.

Solid, entertaining read. Would continue the series.

My Star Ranks:
â˜... - I didn't even finish it
â˜...â˜... - I finished it. Would not recommend
â˜...â˜...â˜... - It was good. Would not necessarily re-read, but would continue the series. May recommend.
â˜...â˜...â˜...â˜... - I really like this book. Would recommend. Would reread.
â˜...â˜...â˜...â˜...â˜... - I adore this book. Will actively recommend, re-read multiple times, and frequently quote.

Two stars just because I only asked once “why doesn't this shit ever end?”
Not more, because I said a LOT of OMGs. A lot.

So... this is sort of The League of Extraordinary Teenaged Gentlewomen.

The idea is great! Finding the characters of her Athena Club was well done. I mean; Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau and Justine Frankenstein! I hadn't even heard of Rappaccini's Daughter! or poor little Justine Moritz... I have to admit I hadn't read any of these books, but you can be sure I have now :-D
That's great!

But...

Theodora Goss didn't bother doing any research of the time she is writing, and to me that's unforgivable. If you write a historical novel, even if it's fantasy, you have to know what you are talking about. I get the feeling all “research” Theodora did was to read other YA historical fantasy novels. Now, I know a lot of people don't give a dime about the historical inaccuracies, probably because all they know about the historical times is what they learned from YA historical fantasy novels like this one, so let's move on.

She has these interjections - the book is written as if Catherine is reading the book as she writes it to the girls, and she decided to write in what the girls said in the book, like footnotes, except they are in the middle of the page. It's a “new way of writing”, she says, and I say “no, it just hasn't been done before BECAUSE IT'S REALLY STUPID WAY OF WRITING!!! Stop it! They are distracting, irritating, don't add anything to the story, but make the characters seem even more unlikable.

And the characters are unlikable, especially Mary and Diana. I can't stand either of them.

Mary is a marysue and better-than-thou, pretentious little shit.
Diana is a foulmouthed, childish, entitled little brat. The description of how Mary and mrs. Poole puts her to bed the first night she's there is... incredible. SHE IS FOURTEEN!!!

I mean, being opinionated is not being a strong female character. (Being opinionated means that one is conceited, full of oneself and stubbornly hanging on one's “opinions”, whether they are reasonable, sound, based on facts, educated or intelligent, and most often an opinionated person's “opinions” are anything but.)
Being potty-mouthed is not being witty and sassy. Insulting people is not funny.

Theodora tells, she doesn't show. That is, we are told Mary is SOOOO “keenly intelligent” and has a “logical mind” so much so that Sherlock Holmes is impressed and interested. But she never does or says anything intelligent or logical. We just have to accept it, because the author tells us it is so.

There's a lot of things we are told, and then there are the inserts to tell us if we missed we are being told. The author keeps patting herself for being such a great writer, by letting her characters praise the one who supposedly is writing this story.

Besides, I hate people who think they are SOOO witty and funny. it's probably a good sign to scrap that part of your manuscript, if you are pleased with how witty and funny you were there. It's like watching comedy shows where the comedian can't stop giggling for his own jokes, which aren't very funny, and the audience is just sitting there, looking at the idiot.
Theodora does this every now and then.

Then, I suppose Theodora wanted to add some socialism and feminism and civil rights and all that kind of things, but she does it very crudely, about the same way she does everything else. Something happens, and then she decides to put in a discussion about it, and then there's an insert to pound the point in, and it's usually off.

Like all the jabber about how easy it was for women to get into trouble, especially servants, who constantly got raped by their masters and then were kicked out on the street and had to become whores, but then she leaves it at that. We are just told this, often by one of the characters giving a sanctimonious speech, and that's it.
She puts in a visit at an insane asylum, but doesn't say a word about the inhuman treatment of the patients, or how a lot of women were thrown in just to get rid of them.
She uses a lot of time whining about women's clothing, but there had been clothing reform since 1860s, there were women not wearing corsets and women wearing pants. So, maybe somewhat eccentric, but not unheard of, not something these women couldn't have done. I'm 100% sure of that Catherine would never have worn a corset, and no-one would have forced one on her.
Also, there were more pockets in Victorian women's clothing than in 20th century women's clothing. The thing is that Theodora hasn't researched this issue either. She's just assuming.

“No wonder men did not want women to wear bloomers. What could women accomplish if they did not have to continually mind their skirts, keep them from dragging in the mud or getting trampled on the steps of an omnibus? If they had pockets! With pockets, women could conquer the world!”
Victorian women's clothing had pockets. Even their underskirts had pockets.
1890s walking dress didn't touch the ground. It was at least two inches above the ground. Hence “walking dress”. So they didn't drag in the mud. And no-one stopped you from using bloomers and not wearing a corset.
I really wish people wanting to write historical fiction spend a week in the costume of the time period they write about, and if they have never worn a historical costume, then accompanied by someone who is used to wearing them, to find out what it REALLY is.

I also hate that this book is full of stereotypes. Justine Moreaux was a pretty girl, totally normal in height and built, but Justine as brought to life by Frankenstein just has to be 2 meters long. Why? Why would Dr. Frankenstein be forced to add height on her? It's not explained. She just has to be huge. The cougar woman likes fish, because cats like fish. Wolves are aggressive and attack people on sight. Wild animals rather attack than flee.

Also, Mary seems to have anorexia. She eats very seldom, finds excuses to not to eat, when she eats, she nibbles.

I hate these fan fiction YA crap novels. Here we have a woman with a University degree (and Ph.D. in that) in English, who doesn't understand or know anything. I especially hate her retellings of the original stories. Now, I can understand that she must change things around, because the original Catherine died, the original Justine died and wasn't made into monster's bride, the original Beatrice died and Doctor Jekyll was never married and had no children. But Theodora makes all the men suspect and nasty, and twists the stories into something... blah.
Reminds me of Sofia Coppola, who just had to remake The Beguiled, and then strip it of the original meaning and feminism, and put in HER understanding of feminism, getting it all wrong. The old Beguiled was more feminist that the new one.
It's saddening and horrifying to see the actors and critics praise it for the feminist values... Are we really a society that think telling is showing? That when the author tells you the MC is intelligent, we accept it?

I was thinking about this... that perhaps people like heroines, not because they find something identifiable in them, something they would like to be, but because these heroines are the kinds they would like to write, and they are identifying themselves with the author, idolizing the author?

Here's my reading notes: https://www.facebook.com/ketutar/posts/10156222440736914

~Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!~“No wonder men did not want women to wear bloomers. What could women accomplish if they did not have to continually mind their skirts, keep them from dragging in the mud or getting trampled on the steps of an omnibus? If they had pockets! With pockets, women could conquer the world!”This was a fabulous book to start out 2018! It was just the right parts dry, sarcastic humor, witty remarks, and references to the classics mixed with strong female characters. My inner book nerd did so many happy dances. I absolutely LOVED the characters and ideas pulled from the classics (Frankenstein, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and I think maybe another that I'm missing). However, the reader does not have to have read those classics to enjoy this book. The characters are entirely fleshed out in this book alone. They have their own stories and the style of writing is completely entertaining. It starts out written in 3rd person, but within just a couple of pages it shifts – brilliantly – to a sidebar commentary of the various characters interjecting while the narrator is writing! It sounds complicated but it is amazing and brilliant and I laughed out loud so many times.Based around the idea of a secret scientific society at the end of the 19th century, the story starts out with the main character, Mary Jekyll, burying her mother and in desperate financial straits. Then through a series of unusual discoveries in her mother's papers, she stumbles across a strangest of characters – all of which seem linked to herself and her dead father in some way. Then they link up with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and between their ever-growing little menagerie of misfits they attempt to solve the mystery of this strange society.There's no real romance – there are hints of it, and some of the characters have obviously had past relationships or relations, as they are referred to at one point. I admit that I'm really looking forward to the sequel, not only to see what exactly was going on with the Society but because I am dying to know if Mary actually ends up with Dr. Watson (as in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. Watson's eventual wife was named Mary), or not! I feel like it will be a NOT but I just need to know. :POverall, 5/5 stars and a fantastic start to my reading year 2018! Highly recommend to YA readers who are fans of historical fiction in general, but especially classic literature.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

In this story, of course, it is quite clear that these fathers have not done right by their daughters at all. But that is not what matters; what matter is how each woman is able to distinguish and separate herself from her father???s legacy, no matter how much that legacy continues to control her in the story???s present. This is especially true in the case of Diana, Justine, Beatrice, and Catherine: for them, there is no escaping their fathers??? legacy, for they are that legacy, for better or for worse. Despite that, though, they try their best, each in her own way, to live with their lot in life and make the best out of it. Their fathers will forever exert an influence on their lives, but that does not mean they cannot carve a slice of freedom and joy out of the world now that they are (mostly) free of their fathers??? control. This is as true in fiction as it is in the real world: sometimes all a person can really do is to break away, and find such happiness as he or she can, making the best of what already is.

Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-Gf

This was a totally charming tale! I loved how Goss wove together so many of the old familiar monster tales - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Frankenstein, and more - and wrapped it all up in a Sherlock Holmes story, but all the while centering the women of the story. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

This was a fun cross-over romp through the classic stories of the 1800s. At times laugh out loud funny, especially when talking suffrage (pocket rage!), and who doesn't love more reasons to read of Sherlock? Feels like Penny Dreadful and tastes of toast with marmalade. Fun little meta commentary throughout by the fictional authors that fills out the characters and digs at itself.

Literary mashups of public domain stories and characters, like Penny Dreadful, A League of Extraordinary Gentleman, and this book, are like opium to me. The daughters of several gaslight era mad scientists, plus Holmes and Watson, team up to solve a series of murders. A great deal of the book is about the formation and backstory of this group, so having gotten that out of the way, I'm looking forward to the next book and their adventures together.