Sensitive reworking makes this monster classic accessible to all

CLASSIC novels are those that stand the test of time, that were written in the past and that people still find value and entertainment in today. It’s a rare and wonderful kind of survival for a book and yet there is an issue with most, if not all of them.

The very nature of something being written so far in the past means that it often uses different language than we are used to, though it might not have many there are bound to be cultural references of the time that are near impossible to decipher without a great deal of research.

This often means that these deeply important, enlightening and lasting stories are inaccessible to young people, particularly children.

Catherine Bruton’s imaginative novelty sequel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – a beloved classic – however, introduces a level of simplicity with such grace that it will undoubtedly introduce today’s children to the story and the value that it holds, while adding her own unique spin.

Maggie Walton has grown up with both a hatred and a love for the immortal tale of Frankenstein’s monster. After her mother dies while giving birth to her, her father becomes obsessed with the idea of eternal life, what it could mean to cheat death, to bring someone back and what the secret to such a miracle could possibly be.

He studies Victor Frankenstein’s work, takes out loans and goes on expeditions in an attempt to find the monster and figure out what of those secrets can be discovered from capturing the failed experiment.

Over the years he loses most of his money and his sanity, having to move Maggie and her aunt to a smaller home in a far worse area with the losses from all his failed adventures.

Nonetheless his hope and resilience remain and so he raises his daughter on stories and very little else, disappearing time after time for however long it would take him to fail next and leaving her with her aunt.

As the story begins his sister has died, and her final breath is a plea to her niece to stop the madness and the eternal quest, for everyone’s sake.

Maggie, however, knows that there is no stopping her father and his obsession. She knows he is committed to finding the monster whether it kills him.

She has grown to resent him, become jealous of the monster, and these feelings are perhaps my favourite thing about this book.

Bruton’s writing leaves room for sympathy both for the desperation of her father and for Maggie’s pain.

Despite the pain she has been forced to endure, Maggie feels she has no choice but to accompany her father on his final chance at an expedition, and the surprises they uncover and lessons they learn along the way will surprise them both.