The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Theodore Roszak

From the Publisher

In The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein, Theodore Roszak offers us a subversive, erotically charged counterpart to Mary Shelley's classic, Frankenstein. It is presented in the form of a secret autobiography, a soul-baring document intended for the eyes of a single reader: Elizabeth's brother, lover, and spiritual other half - Victor Frankenstein. The writings are discovered by Sir Robert Walton, the Arctic explorer who, in Mary Shelley's original novel, recorded Victor's deathbed confession. Walton becomes obsessed with learning the full story behind the mad doctor's last words. From the tattered pages of Elizabeth's journal and the scattered clues Walton finds as he re-creates her life, a compelling tale of moral horror unfolds. In her memoirs, Elizabeth emerges as a spirited woman far ahead of her times. Rescued as a child from the Gipsies by the brilliant Lady Caroline Frankenstein, she is raised as young Victor's adopted sister. Under Lady Caroline's guidance, Elizabeth is initiated into a circle of "cunning women" - outsiders would call them witches - who are the guardians of long-forgotten pagan ceremonies and healing arts. She and Victor are schooled in ancient teachings that have been transmitted through female adepts who understand the mysteries of nature. The goal is to unite the two in the "chemical marriage," a step toward the union of all opposites that will restore the Earth to balance. The two youths pursue their education through the shadowy realms of alchemical lore and tantric sexual rites until a moment of weakness disrupts the quest. Tormented by shame and anger, Victor turns to the "unhallowed arts" that result in his misbegotten Creature, the vengeful fiend who will haunt Elizabeth's fatal wedding night.

Publishers Weekly

How ironic that a woman who wrote as a man should, after nearly 200 years, be given such ardent voice by a man writing as a woman. Roszak, author of the seminal nonfiction work The Making of a Counterculture and several previous novels including Flicker, risks much and achieves all in this richly imagined, frankly erotic homage to Mary Shelley, who modeled Victor Frankenstein's murdered-and scarcely heard from-bride on herself. Elizabeth has her full say here, and what a supremely gothic-and feminist-tale she tells: of her secret birth and her upbringing by a gypsy midwife; of her adoption by freethinking Lady Caroline Frankenstein; of her initiation into a wicca group and her preparation for a ``chymical marriage'' to her foster brother Victor; and of her solo wanderings in the Swiss Alps and her formation of a telepathic relationship with a hideous stranger named Adam, leading to madness and death. Roszak cleverly has Sir Richard Walton, the narrator of Frankenstein, present this work. His antiphonal ``editor's notes,'' with their condescending view of women and admiration for ``manly'' science, provide a solid historical framework and strategic links to Shelley's novel. Passionate and lyrical, rife with period details and underpinned by a thought-provoking subtext on gender relations and the nature of modern science, this spellbinder will send readers rushing to gobble up its precursor. Major ad/promo; Doubleday Book Club alternate; audio rights to Simon & Schuster. (Apr.)

Library Journal

Twice nominated for the National Book Award and a professor who has taught the novel Frankenstein for over 20 years, Roszak (The Cult of Information, Univ. of California Pr., 1994) here offers the story of Victor Frankenstein's ill-fated bride, Elizabeth. These "memoirs" were written by Elizabeth for the eyes of Victor only, but they are discovered by Sir Robert Walton and edited for publication. Elizabeth's story is powerful and unsettling. Roszak uses the enthusiasm for science in the Age of Enlightenment as counterpoint to an alternate tradition of science as practiced by Baroness Caroline Frankenstein, Victor's mother. The feminist tenets of "cunning women" like the baroness are antithetical to the male-dominated laws of Enlightenment science. Gothic, erotic, and feminist, Roszak's novel is a compelling companion to Mary Shelley's classic. Recommended for large fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/94.]-Dean James, Houston Acad. of Medicine/Texas Medical Ctr. Lib.

Details from Seller

• ISBN: 0553576372
• Pub. Date: October 1996
• Condition:

Comments from the Seller: Satisfaction Guaranteed. Shipped quickly. : Good overall with moderate wear. No dust jacket.