The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein

by Theodore Roszak

Book Overview

Rescued from an impoverished life among the Gypsies, raised by a remarkable noblewoman of Geneva, Elzabeth Lavenza was much more than a foster sister to Victor Frankenstein. Together, they forged a sensual bond and entered a world of mythical lore. Theodore Roszak reveals the stunningly passionate story Mary Shelley herself had dared not write.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679437320
• ISBN13: 9780679437321
• Release Date: April 1995
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 425 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Amazing

I read this book just after it came out and have been searching for it ever since. I never found a book that was more intriguing that is based on another story. Most retellings that I have read are wishy- washy stories that have nithing to do with the original story. The way that they focused on the mythology in the Frankenstien family, interwoven with the beliefs of the time is what made it so interesting. a telling old a historical tale that gives woman a since of sexualilty. I would and will read this book over and over again.

Be warned: this book is an argument in disguise

If you read "The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein" expecting to find a horror story similar to Mary Shelley's classic, then you will be extremely disappointed. But Theodore Roszak's novel is an excuse to make an argument, albeit in narrative form, concerning what Dr. Frankenstein wrought up in his laboratory. After all, Roszak is not only a novelist ("Flicker") but also a historian ("The Making of a Counter Culture"). The novel "Frankenstein" represents an important paradigm shift in human history, where science became God, replacing religion. In that regard you can say that the myth of Frankenstein replaced that of Faustus. Essentially "Frankenstein" argues that "there are some things man was not meant to tamper with," a tale that you can trace back to the Tower of Babel or see behind the story of the Titanic for that matter. Roszak makes a similar and no less compelling case for a different kind of shift. For Roszak the science of Dr. Frankenstein represents the "masculine," which replaces the older "feminine" wisdom represented by Elizabeth. As an infant, Elizabeth Lavenza is given to a wandering gypsy. She is illegitimate, without a mother and rejected by her father. Nine years later she is adopted by the strange wife of Baron Alphonse Frankenstein. Elizabeth discovers that Lady Caroline Frankenstein belongs to a secret witches' coven. She has adopted Elizabeth to create an intellectual companion for her son Victor. Lady Caroline has the two children tutored by an old crone, Seraphina, who teaches the "women's mysteries," which includes a series of erotic devotions that serve to reveal the ancient secrets of life. However, Victor would rather dissect animals and study electrical storms. Rejecting magic, instinct and sensuality for the power of aggressive intellect, Victor destroys his friendship with Elizabeth in a brutal act. This sets up Roszak's one ironic twist on the original novel, for when the creature finally emerges in the final chapters of the novel, he befriends Elizabeth; of course, this is before he strangles her on her wedding night. Ultimately, Roszak has written an allegory that despite its willingness to wallow in arcane sexual rites argues for the privileged position of supposedly "feminist" ideals. For Roszak, Dr. Frankenstein is more Pandora than "The Modern Prometheus." If you have read Shelley's novel (not to be confused with the various film versions) and have an appreciation for how the dawn of the Age of Science changed things, then you will find "The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein" to be a provocative story.

Interesting approach

I think that although this book is marketed as a prequel or retelling of "Frankenstein" and the author said that this is the book Mary Shelley would have written today, I would disagree. It's not written in a similar manner -- it shifts between her diary and a commentary or interpretation based on the view of her contemporaries. Although the horror aspect is still contained in "Memoirs" it is a horror that focuses on the technological worship of impersonal science. The horror also may be the sexual, psychological, political, physical, and spiritual oppression of women, all of which are explored in some manner in this book. Elizabeth's sexual explorations and themes of "witchcraft" may put some readers off of this book. My personal favorite part of this book was the ecofeminist idea that oppression of nature can be linked to oppression of women -- in other words, that science objectifies and dehumanizes both the natural world and women. These themes might seem a little "out there" to some readers, but may be fascinating to fans of women's studies or liberal minded folk. Certainly well-written.

Lyrical, sensitive... and not for light readers.

This is a novel that works in amny levels. Of course, it is indeed, a masterful gothic. A bouquet to Mary Shelley and a very modern horror story, but beyond these layers it is also a study of the secrets of the women at a time when they were best thought of "in the dark"... and this is a dark story all right.For those of use who longed for more about the enigmathic and tragic Elizabeth Lavenza-Frankenstein here is a book that won't be easily read, but neither will it be easily forgotten.

A book that works on so many levels....

This is not a book for the faint of heart. And it certainly isn't a book for fans of most so-called "gothic horror" currently padding the bookshelves. This isn't a "isn't it cool to be undead" power fantasy ride and it isn't a "gasp what's behind that corner" thriller. It is instead a masterful work of fiction blended with fact, as Roszak weaves a tapestry that has as its subject matter not just Elizabeth Frankenstein, but the pre-Victorian age she lived in, the dark Romanticism of the age, and the (all too forgotten) revelation of pre-Twentieth Century feminism, and the pain that came with it.The sensuality surrounding Elizabeth and Victor's relationship, consumed by Victor's dark passions, feels natural and powerful. Sexuality is a form of strength within this text. A kind of power that one keeps to one's self. This is reflected both in the couple's experimentation with sexual alchemy and in the shattering of their bond through rape-as-marriage. It further is highlighted by the "editor's remarks" that annotate the work, which are a paragon of Victorian priggishness while forced to begrudgingly admire Elizabeth's "perversities."Accurately rendered and excellently written, this book should appeal to serious students of Romanticism and light fiction lovers alike.But don't come in expecting easy to digest screams