The DARK DESCENT of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

A Halloween treat.

What drew me to this book? The author, Kiersten White, in an interview on WNYC, talked about publishing this retelling of Frankenstein on the 200th anniversary of the original publication. She also talked about the time period that Mary Shelley lived; being an author was basically an all-male profession as well as the protagonists in their stories. In the introduction of the original book, Shelley’s husband downplays her contribution thinking that people would prefer to read the book if it was written jointly with himself and Lord Byron – Even Mary Shelley herself shifts focus from herself, complimenting her husband encouraging her to write the story.

So Kiersten White decided to pay tribute to Mary Shelley by bringing the women to the forefront of this story. While asking the questions, “How much of who we are is shaped by those around us?” and “What happens when everything we are depends on someone else?”, White says she found the her story in Elizabeth Lavenza – a little girl gifted to a little boy, that feels this boy is the center of her life and, unwittingly, helps create a monster.