Mary Jekyll and the Athena Club foil a plot to unseat the Queen and race to save one of their own in this electrifying conclusion to the Locus Award winning trilogy that began with The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter. Life’s always an adventure for the Athena Club…especially when one of their own has been kidnapped! After their thrilling European escapades rescuing Lucina van Helsing, … rescuing Lucina van Helsing, Mary Jekyll, and her friends return home to discover that their friend and kitchen maid Alice has vanished–and so has their friend and employer Sherlock Holmes!
As they race to find Alice and bring her home safely, they discover that Alice and Sherlock’s kidnapping are only one small part of a plot that threatens Queen Victoria, and the very future of the British Empire. Can Mary, Diana, Beatrice, Catherine, and Justine save their friends–and the Empire?
In the final volume of the trilogy that Publishers Weekly called “a tour de force of reclaiming the narrative, executed with impressive wit and insight” in a starred review, the women of the Athena Club will embrace their monstrous pasts to create their own destinies.
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This is the final book in the Athena Club at least for now. I really hope that the author/publisher decides to come back to these characters they were just so fun to read. After the second book, I was a little worried how big this book would be and I was happy to see that this book was more condensed. I am not sure how the author did it but all the new storylines that were introduced in the second book along with the ones remaining from the first were beautifully tied up.
This installment picks up right where the second book left off with the kidnapping of Alice and the unknown whereabouts of Sherlock Holmes. One of my favorite elements of this story is that all of these characters are unique. They all have strong personalities and yet they all complement each other.
The injected banter between the characters about what is being written continued to add to the story. It gave these women that are essentially experiments (by men) a very human feel. At its core this is about women being able to save themselves and not needing men to survive, which is a very different ideal than what was believed during the Victorian times.
I would love to see the Athena Club made into a TV/Netflix series.
The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss
I have grown fond of the “monstrous gentlewomen” of the Athena club, and hope that this third book of the trilogy will not be the end, that the series will continue with the band of sisters and friends working together to right wrongs. Loyalty, courage, resourcefulness and wisdom prevail, with compassion and forgiveness and humor as well.
Some insights (I hope no spoilers) a bit muddled, but that’s where my head is right now: “The only antidote to worry was action.”
Justine on women’s clothes “could no longer move freely and easily” but “ . . . a beauty to women’s garments . . . It was all rather confusing.” “Clothing of the New Woman”
Beatrice “Why is it necessary to categorize people . . . Why can we not all wear whatever we wish?” “I support food and shelter and medical care for everyone . . . Fabian Society does . . . good work . . .”
Mrs. Poole “All cats are scoundrels.” Alpha, Omega . . . and Bast
“Rosy-fingered dawn . . . wearing gray gloves.”
Freedom vs. promise of “peace and prosperity”
Interesting that, even though I had already accepted the literary sisterhood of characters, the introduction of Dorian Gray was hard to wrap my head around. I did find myself needing breaks from the reading, to sort a bit before continuing. Perhaps the layout could have signaled changes in setting a bit more clearly, but it was worth the extra effort to spend time with Mrs. Poole’s “girls.” <3
This entire league of extraordinary gentlewomen series has been a delight from start to finish and this latest entry was fun and satisfying. Characters from classic 19th c. horror, science fiction and mystery re-imagined with a focus on the women behind the scenes, and running off to have their own adventures–Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein, Lucy Van Helsing and more, crossing paths with Sherlock Holmes, Count Dracula and assorted others. It’s great fun, all presented with asides from the various players as Catherine Moreau tries to monetize their tales in the form of penny dreadfuls.
As the author (Catherine, not Ms. Goss) says more than once, “Start with the first book!” You won’t be disappointed.