Based on some of literature’s horror and science fiction classics, this “tour de force of reclaiming the narrative, executed with impressive wit and insight” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) debut is the story of a remarkable group of women who come together to solve the mystery of a series of gruesome murders—and the bigger mystery of their own origins.Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless … penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.
But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.
When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous.
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When her mother passes away, Mary Jekyll isn’t sure how to make ends meet. But paying the bills becomes the least of her worries when she’s entangled in a mystery of monstrous proportions. Can she and famed detective Sherlock Holmes uncover who’s behind a rash of murders in Whitechapel? And could the killings be connected to a shadowy society — and her own father?
Soon, Mary is thrown together with her diabolical sister, Diana Hyde, as well as the venomous Beatrice Rappacini, feline-turned-human Catherine Moreau, and giantess Justine Frankenstein. What do all these young women have in common? Well, for starters, they’re all monsters, created by infamous “mad” scientists.
This book took me a little while to finish — there’s quite a bit of exposition to get through before the plot picks up. Also, Mary is not a terribly interesting character — she has her moments, but most of the time she felt like a placeholder for the reader. However, the writing was so lovely that I didn’t really mind, and I loved getting to know the backstory of each character’s creation. This is the first in a series, so don’t expect a tidy resolution — there’s definitely more in store for these ladies.
A book that combines Jekyll & Hyde, Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau, and more sounds like an absolute hot mess. So the very fact that Goss pulled it off, and pulled it off in a fabulous way, speaks to some mad writing skills.
Although interested in the book, I was expecting yet another serious tale of a young woman trying to get out from a male relative’s shadow, as so many of these “Daughter of” The Girl Who” The So & So’s Wife” usually are. But this was so not that. It’s a historical mystery, it’s a fantastical adventure, and the best part is that it’s pretty darn funny.
My main complaint is that some of the stories within the story do go on a while and detract from the main action. So much so that I’d forgotten where the main story left off. Nevertheless, it was a fun read and I’ll be looking for more from Goss.
I enjoyed the tone of this book very much. It features a mostly female cast drawn from the pages of classic monster literature, all with unique voices and insights. The novel falls down a little in that it falls very strongly into the “getting the group together” trope, which takes up a great deal of the action at the expense of the plot. I feel that now that Ms. Goss has her crew of characters assembled, the second book in the series is poised to be much stronger than the first one. Nevertheless, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter was engaging enough that I’m looking forward to following the crew on their further adventures.
I grew up on the old Hollywood classics that lead me to the original books. Theodroa Goss does a great job expanding on the stories of Dr, Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, Dracula, etc that it was a page turner.
You don’t need to know those stories beforehand for she does a wonderful job weaving it into the five heroines tales.
In addition I do love a good mystery which she adds with Holmes into the mix.
My favorite part is it being all told by women which you rarely get in this time setting.
I liked The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, but it wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping. I love the concept, bringing together the daughters of all these famous literary characters. But once they were all together, the pace of the book was too slow for me. There was so much explanation, but not enough actual action. The purpose of this book seems to be to set up the rest of the series, and now I do want to read the next book, with the hope that the action picks up. I also wasn’t a big fan of the constant interruptions by the characters from outside the narrative. I understand the function of it, but it got annoying and really did affect the pacing of the story.
Are you a fan of monsters? What about the ones from olden days, like Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and other creatures from that era such as werewolves and vampires? They have always been fascinating in one way or another for most, especially since these characters are all created from failed scientific experiments. These can all be categorized as classic horror stories. Obviously, horror has evolved so much over time that it would not be considered so now, but for those who enjoy classics to this day, Goss begins a fascinating adventure just for you and she’s even added the infamous Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Mary Jekyll has lost her mother, her last living relative, or so she thought. With little money and no way of obtaining her father’s fortune, Mary is forced to sell some of her mother’s belongings to even pay the staff. She is approached by a solicitor with regards to a secret account opened by her mother, where account payments were being made monthly to a finishing school in the name of Hyde. Feeling confused, she approaches Mr. Sherlock Holmes to ask for an investigation into the disappearance of Mr. Hyde, a well-known criminal who has seemed to disappear. Starting with a small piece of the puzzle, she knows that her mother and this mysterious Mr. Hyde had some type of connection, but how? What she finds at the finishing school is only the beginning. As Mr. Holmes and Mary find more clues, they embark on an adventure which will ultimately lead to the unraveling of a huge secret society that specializes in the creation of monsters.
Goss tells this story from a character by the name of Catherine, half-woman and half-puma, who Mary meets along the way. She is the writer of adventures of the Athena Club’s foundation as told to her by the other characters in the story. What a clever idea, a story within a story! The characters are all exceptionally well-developed and they are all appealing in their own right. This first installment flows effortlessly and the pace keeps the reader on their toes and looking for the next clue. Since this is classified as historical fantasy or fiction, the timeline is credible with characters created in the same time period. What makes this story notorious is the significance of characters that are known to readers from other retellings. This just means the reader automatically gets insight of who is involved as well as a precognitive understanding of their persona as told by others. The narrator beautifully captures the characters and intensifies the story with her various accents, vocal distinction capabilities, and smooth dialogue. If you are a reader of mysteries in a historical setting, you will definitely appreciate this series. Reading these books in chronological order is recommended for this series.
An audio copy of this book was purchased by Turning Another Page. We provide a five-star rating to The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss.
An amazing story expertly told with characters who capture both the reader’s imagination and heart. I am excited to begin the next of series!
What a wonderful fun romp.
A must-read for anyone who’s read the turn-of-the-century gothic novels. Putting women back in the story in a fun and original way
The monsters’ daughters unite in this fun and fantastic mystery thriller. Based on some of literature’s best classic horror and sci-fi stories, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter brings together a band of misfits, the daughters of some of the most infamous heroes and villains of all time: Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein. They team up with the legendary Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to solve a gruesome series of murders.
Together these women uncover a secret scientific society of immoral and power-crazed scientists. It isn’t always easy to see the true monsters in the light of day.
These strong and diverse female characters offer a different point of view on stories we all know so well. Ms. Goss has blended a little romance with bits of mystery and intrigue, fantasy and thriller for a delightful story of friendship and hope.
This is my first story by Theodora Goss but I am sure, it will not be my last.
Absolutely delightful! The “monstrous women” of the story are all the daughters or made creatures of mad scientists, and very prominent ones, too. Jekyl and Hyde, Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau and Rappacini had, mutated or created these ladies and they are a force to be reckoned with, especially when they get together. Holmes and Watson are on hand too, for some rousing adventures and derring do. Read for great fun and a new take on some classic tales
An utter hoot. Mixed with mysteries and murders and endless callbacks to classic literature, of course, given the premise — daughters of dangerous Victorian men (Jekyll, Hyde, Moreau, Frankenstein, et al) team up to fight evil and make their way. Really, a delight.
Before reading Theodora Goss’ “European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman,” the second “Athena Club” book, I re-read the first novel, “The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter.” Though I did remember that Sherlock Holmes made an appearance in that volume, it’s a testament to Goss’ vivid original characters that I’d completely forgotten what a large role he played in that book (and this from a serious Holmesian).
Unlike many steampunk authors, Goss not only creates independent kick-arse heroines (with appropriate foibles and vulnerabilities), but she does so while fully acknowledging the limitations and restrictions placed on women in the Victorian period (something many writers of similar adventures seem to either forget or ignore)
“Alchemists Daughter” is very much like a female “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” (the graphic novel, not the abysmal film adaptation). It weaves together components/characters from all the major early horror novels – Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Dr. Moreau, and Rappacini – in clever ways that pay homage to the original works while also putting a new and different spin on them.
If you love LOEG, Kim Newman’s vampirized Victorian age, Robert Downey’s “Sherlock Holmes,” or the “Penny Dreadful” cable series, you’ll probably love “The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter.”
“League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with ladies.”
How do I get my copy!!
This is how I heard this series described by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. You can see her booktube video here where she received the second book in this series from the publisher. I discover when I went to look up the video that I never finished that haul video. Why you might ask well that is because I literally took my lunch break and drove to my local bookstore and picked up my copy.
So after I had my copy I realized that I now had really high expectations for this book and rarely do books live up to really high expectations. But I am happy to be able to say that this book not only lived up to those really high expectations but surpassed them.
When I began reading this story I noticed that the characters in the story have a going commentary regarding the manuscript. To be honest I wasn’t sure how I felt about it in the beginning and I remember stopping and really thinking about how I felt about it. but in the end, I really loved it. This approach really added another layer to the characters and made me love them more.
This book takes characters from multiple gothic stories and molds them all together. These women are true friendship goals. I love not just the mystery of the story but the friendships in this book are amazing. I am not going to go into the plot very much because I think that not knowing more than that one tagline is what made it so very enjoyable for me.
This is the best book I’ve read in a long, long time! I can’t wait for the next one!
One is the best books of the year!