Our Hideous Progeny: A thrilling Gothic Adventure

Product Information

C.E. McGill Ha, great question! Even though it may feel a little bit like cheating, I find that one surefire way to push past my own doubts about a project and fi …more Ha, great question! Even though it may feel a little bit like cheating, I find that one surefire way to push past my own doubts about a project and find motivation to write is to talk about my ideas with others. As you point out, when I first came up with the idea for OHP, I thought it was ridiculous - but when I jokingly mentioned the idea at Thanksgiving dinner, my family loved it and demanded to see it played out. Given that little boost of self-confidence, I ended up considering the idea more seriously and realizing that there was actually far more depth and possibility in this "Frankenstein with dinosaurs" concept than I'd initially given it credit for. I find that having a trusted friend or family member or classmate or critique group to brainstorm with (and to demand to see that first chapter written out!) helps me realize, through their reaction to it, what actually drew me to the idea in the first place and why it's worth pursuing. In other words: if you haven't got any self-confidence at home yet, store bought is fine. Our Hideous Progeny is a continuation of the Mary Shelley classic, Frankenstein. The year is 1853, and Victor Frankenstein’s great-niece, Mary Sutherland, and her husband, Henry, are desperate to break into the science of paleontology. But together, they have neither money nor good reputation – both of which they need for their academic peers to take them seriously. McGill's prose is rich and atmospheric, perfectly capturing the eerie and foreboding tone of the Gothic tradition. The characters are complex and layered . . . Our Hideous Progeny is a masterful work of Gothic horror that will leave readers on the edge of their seat. GLAMOUR

Who suddenly has an epiphany one day. Who decides to look into Victor Frankenstein's work and research and when she discovers... Sarah J. Maas's sexy, richly imagined series continues with the journey of Feyre's fiery sister, Nesta.I was less enamoured of her husband (or any of the male characters aside from Mr. Jamsetjee who was such a sweetheart) though the realism and accuracy to the contemporary attitudes of the day were spot on and really highlighted how remarkably strong Mary (and others like her) had to be to persevere in such a harsh, discriminatory environment. C.E. McGill's Our Hideous Progeny is a brilliant, necessary reworking of the Frankenstein trope. In it McGill explores and questions relationships across the gender binary and documents the ways that equivalent actions by men and women can be viewed in completely different (and damning) ways. When Mary - a scientist struggling to make her mark in 1850s London - discovers journals belonging to her great-uncle, Victor Frankenstein, she embarks on what might be the greatest adventure of all....

A fantastic read: I felt everything about Mary, her simmering anger and her intellectual delight, so very clearly." - Freya Marske In this gothic adventure, debut novelist McGill builds on Shelley's iconic story by adding sharp-minded female protagonist Mary, who sets out to discover the truth about her great-uncle Victor Frankenstein's disappearance in the Arctic. STYLIST, 'The best new feminist retellings of classic stories to read in 2023' This story follows the great niece of Victor Frankenstein and upon finding his papers she follows in his footsteps. A strange story with a headstrong female protaganist that has a penchant for fossils and dinosaurs. For readers of Circe or Ariadne, a brilliant literary revisiting of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein with a fresh, queer, provocative twist.Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein, who she knows disappeared under mysterious circumstances. But when she discovers some old family papers, she learns the reason for his disappearance but also sees a way for herself & Henry to get themselves known. I have three words for you: queer, feminist, Frankenstein. Let that sink in for a minute and then go run to grab a copy of this one. This is a multi genre book and manages to pull them off seamlessly. The author does a superb job of portraying the blood boiling way in which women were treated in 1850, especially while trying to work in a field that is dominated by men. Fans of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and historical horror with a queer feminist twist will not be disappointed. LIBRARY JOURNAL

Like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Our Hideous Progeny is much more than an engaging bit of fiction. It probes and challenges the values of Mary's time in a way that makes readers ache for her and consider the limitations of our present world. The novel begins as a bit of a slow burn, but as it progresses it bursts into full flame—and I found myself racing through the final third of the novel, deeply invested in Mary's struggle and the arbitrary obstacles and disrespect that she encounters at every turn. A wonderfully rich, emotionally engaging tale with the flavour and appeal of a great 19th-century novel. Guardian This is no typical revisiting of Shelley’s iconic tale…This is a post-Gothic treat, an enjoyably moody, fog-drenched fictional commemoration of women in science.” I’m going to need every to drop what they’re doing and add this to their TBR right now. This was absolutely everything I was hoping for and more. I adored Mary, who’s character takes inspiration from not one but three impressive women of the 19th C: Mary Shelley, Mary Anning (the self-taught palaeontologist who found the first Ichthyosaur fossil) and Mary Somerville (one of the first women admitted into the Royal Astronomical Society), and really enjoyed discovering just how much of their stories connected to our refreshingly bold and sharp-tongued protagonist—especially Mary Anning, who seemed to have to the most in common with our plesiosaur-obsessed MC.The pacing of this novel did the story a huge disservice. While I enjoy a well done atmospheric ‘vibes over plot’ storyline, I still require thematic contemplation to occupy my mind. Almost 60% of this book was dedicated to simple day-to-day recounting. Various scientific presentations, diner parties, conversations occur to hound in the fact that the 19th century was deeply misogynistic and racist. I did not need that many chapters to explain to me why exactly Mary was so angry. Witty, dark and sharp as a scalpel, it's a dazzling exploration of the macabre ambitions of Victorian science and a moving meditation on grief. C.E. McGill brilliantly captures what it's like to be a woman in a man's world. LIZZIE POOK, author of MOONLIGHT AND THE PEARLER'S DAUGHTER NOTE TO READERS: This breathtaking special edition is only available for a limited time and while quantities last. The difference between a proper young lady and a beastly little thing was that ladies were never angry; they took their moods and wove them into lace, stuffed them into pillows. They learned to hold their tongue. But I have always been a beastly little thing at heart, it seems."

A gripping Gothic tale of grief and ambition, passion and intrigue' JESS KIDD, author of THE NIGHT SHIP What a book this is. It's grand; it's sumptuous. It's horror and mystery, a literary thriller. Impeccably researched and elegantly written. I LOVED IT! One of my two fav. books so far this year... A gothic feminist retelling of Frankenstein with a sapphic romance? Yes, please! Unfortunately, I was bored to death.Honestly, I didn't finish this book. I DNF'd it at 40-ish percent and have no desire to revisit it, For all the marketing and talk of this being a queer feminist retelling of "Frankenstein", it was indeed that. It was so cookie-cutter and predictable that I earnestly believe that Shelley would be offended at anybody calling this a retelling of her work. I found the pacing of this to be incredibly slow and just boring. Mary as a character isn't particularly engaging and nothing that was happening at the 40% mark gave me any reason to continue any further. I don't mean to speak so badly about this novel but I was just not a fan. Readers of science fiction will find this title a "ripping good yarn," but readers looking for something more substantial than entertainment will find in Our Hideous Progeny a wealth of ideas—and it's those readers who will, I think, most appreciate this title.