The Resurrectionist: A Tale of Gothic Horror

By Kathleen S. Allen

A young Victorian woman unwittingly unleashes a monster into being in this gothic tale of medical mystery and sinister suspense, perfect for fans of DON'T LET THE FOREST IN and BELLADONNA.

Death is just the beginning.

When seventeen-year-old Dilly Rothbart finds her recently deceased father's hidden journal, her entire world is upended--for what she finds within are the steps to bring a dead soul back to life.

Intent on finishing her father's work and establishing herself as the greatest scientist in history, Dilly plunges into a medical underworld of corpse-stealing, grave-robbing, and even murder. And when her twin sister steps in the way of her studies, she'll do whatever is necessary to secure the recognition she deserves.

This twisty, atmospheric, Frankensteinian tale is about a group of ambitious young scientists who descend into corruption when a breakthrough discovery grants them the power of gods.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250341779
• ISBN13: 9781250341778
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 14 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 9 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

A fine Penny Dreadful

Props for the cover which is nicely intriguing and definitely caught my interest. Pretty much, this story is Frankenstein (with a little bit of Jack the Ripper put in so there are plenty of fresh corpses for experimentation) set in Victorian England, with Dilly being the slightly naive, progressive, frustrated about limits for women at that time but not afraid to get her hands dirty, especially if it deals with bodies and their inner workings character as the successful resurrectionist and her sister is the monster brought back to life. It was entertaining and definitely read like a penny dreadful with characters willing to do anything to reach their goals and if means slitting a throat or bringing back a sister who goes from nice and wanting to marry and have kids to an absolute soulless killer who only wants someone exactly like her. Lots of macabre and creeping wrongness, a man trying to take credit for what is not his, wanton destruction, and of course random body parts (some used for reanimation) and others used for proper atmosphere for a gothic horror. I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator, Harrie Dobby, did a good job in bringing Dilly to life and the dark world where bodies can be reanimated (with only a few issues) and how she can make her place in this time and place, despite all the others in her way. Luckily she has an extra sharp scalpel to make her point!