Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein

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The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

10 reviews

inkwellimps's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

I wouldn't recommend it to people who are fans of the original book. As a derivative work, I wasn't expecting to be so far astray from the original--Victor in particular I was very bothered by. To give one example early on in the novel,

there is a scene where Victor as a child comes to his senses after having hurt his younger brother and is wholly unconcerned that his brother is bleeding out

, which makes me wonder if Kiersten White and I read the same Frankenstein where Victor is filled with anxiety and dread over the thought of anything happening to his loved ones, where securing his family’s safety is his sole motivation after the creature’s creation. Like EVEN if we go with the "Victor is mad" theory, it is Victor's emotional investment in the wellbeing of his family that drives the tension and interest in Frankenstein. Additionally, in the original every death puts Victor in a deep despair where he stops engaging with the world and caring for himself until others intervene. In The Dark Descent, this is reduced to Victor being very sickly, and is entirely unrelated outside of giving Elizabeth a way to conveniently discover Victor's research.

I do genuinely believe there's a lot that could be said about Elizabeth, or anyone in her position, as someone taken in as a parentified only daughter (as Victor's parents seem to treat her in the original), but I don't think this book is the book to do it. I was eagerly anticipating how White would handle (spoilers for the original book)

Justine being accused of young William's murder and Elizabeth genuinely blaming her. In the original, this is a moment of real heartbreak for Elizabeth where she not only loses the child but believes momentarily her close friend is guilty of murder before Victor convinces her of Justine's innocence.

I was genuinely disappointed that the Elizabeth of The Dark Descent could not be--even momentarily--flawed and this Elizabeth for no moment doubted Justine's innocence, making the scene overall more boring.

For being billed as “The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein”, the majority of the novel portrays Elizabeth as a victim. The darkness in question is mainly Elizabeth trying to make herself appealing to Victor and ||convincing herself she is responsible for Victor’s murders via not knowing he was committing them||. She is rather hastily comforted by a side character, Mary, that she is not at fault. Shortly before this, Mary straight up tells Elizabeth that she is a victim.

After taking charge, Elizabeth leads a more righteous life

—as much as the author’s note solidifies that this was written with the intent of being a feminist novel, it bothers me that all of the female protagonist’s choices cannot be caused by her own volition, but must instead be caused by the villainous male character. It’s just another caricature of femininity.

I did try to give this novel a chance as its own isolated narrative after getting over that initial surprise, but beyond what it borrows from Shelley, I found it to be mediocre. There was a small moment I was genuinely invested around the 3/4 mark where it is revealed that

Elizabeth still could inherent the Lavenza fortune and that this potential is the reason Judge Frankenstein kept her around,

but a couple scenes after that I found myself disengaged.

Content Warnings

apestforwrens's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

If you want “girlboss Frankenstein” this isn’t the book you want. If you want “Rebecca and Frankenstein had a weird kid” this is that book. It’s a really interesting take on the original that pays homage to both the story and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Slow burn for a fascinating character journey

Content Warnings