Book #22 – European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman

Prompt – A book that passes the Bechdel Test (a book must feature at least two women, they must talk to each other and their conversation must be about something other than a man).

Medium – Book

About the Book – The second in a trilogy of books by Theodora Goss, ‘European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman’ continues the story of the Athena Club, a group of women who are the product of grievous experiments carried out by their fathers, who are all members of the Society Alchemists. The club comprises of Mary Jekyll (the main character), who is the daughter of Dr Jekyll, her sister Diana Hyde (who shows all the character traits and flaws of the dark side of her father), Beatrice Rappaccini (who has been made poisonous), Justine Frankenstein and Catherine Moreau (the cat-woman). The Athena Club are summoned by Mina Murray, Mary’s ex-governess, to rescue the imprisoned Lucinda Van Helsing from experiments carried out on her by her father. Throughout the book, they are aided by other literary heroes, such as Holmes and Watson, Irene Adler, Count Dracula and others.

My Rating – 10/10. I enjoyed everything about this book. I read the first one just before Christmas, and loved the way that the story line included characters from a range of 18th and 19th Century stories. These characters are brought up-to-date with a real focus on the female characters being strong, independent and resourceful, that despite their being ‘created’ by the whims of men, they do not have to be subject to their fathers’ expectations for them. The male characters who are allied with the Athena Club (i.e. Holmes and Watson, Count Dracula) are likeable and don’t try and stop the female characters from solving cases or working on their own mysteries.

This book was a big one – 700 pages – but I was intrigued and enjoyed myself throughout. The modern themes together with the Victorian setting of the story meant that the book both indulged my feminist beliefs alongside my love of anything pre-20th century. The book is also funny, a welcome relief from both work and the audiobook that I am listening to at the moment (which will be either book 23 or 24 on the Reading Challenge)! I also found the mystery one which didn’t get old – I didn’t know what was going to happen and the twist at the end of the book came out of the blue. I also really like the writing style – where the author (Catherine) is interrupted in her telling of the story by the other members of the Athena Club disagreeing with her writing, having arguments or adding more to the story.

Would I read it again? Yes, definitely. I really love these books and they will stay on my shelves for years! I am slightly cheating on the reading challenge as I have picked out my next book already – unsurprisingly, I am going to be continuing with the series. I want to find out how the twist resolves…