Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was one of my favorite books of 2023. The passion, the pain of creation, reckoning with what it means to be a creator vs. a mother. I loved the historical science fiction aspects, all the characters they meet in the scientific community based on real scientists. The 'monster' was beautiful in soul and deliciously gruesome at the same time. I wept at the end.

I absolutely loved this book. It is an excellent continuation of the concepts Mary Shelley initially created with Frankenstein. The book follows the illegitimate daughter of the Frankenstein family line as she tries to understand herself and find her place in the science community. At the same time, she has married to get out from under her grandmother's influence, though her husband is not everything she anticipated. It is hard to praise this book without accidentally giving details away. So if you love Frankenstein and sapphic books, then this is a must-read!

Content warning: animal cruelty/testing, gun violence, murder, gore, bodily harm

Based on the synopsis, I was really looking forward to this one, but for me I felt like the synopsis and the actual book were two entirely different stories. As a "queer reimagining of Frankenstein" this doesn't hit that mark for me - or at least I expected more of the plot to be queer than what happened.

The first 30+% of OUR HIDEOUS PROGENY is about Mary's childhood, her meeting Henry, and the early years of their marriage. A lot of pages are dedicated to the minute details of relations and drama within the scientific circles of the UK at that time (especially in London society). And while this is needed background information for everything else, I was really disappointed that it took SO long to get to Mary finding the account of Victor Frankenstein and his creature.

Personally, I found myself only being able to reach a chapter or so at a time before I was struggling to stay focused so this took way longer than it should have to read - this is not my normal experience with Gothic style novels.

Great idea, but this one was a miss for me, your mileage may vary.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Harper in exchange for an honest review.

If you love anything Frankenstein, you are in for a treat. Each chapter starts off with an excerpt of the classic novel we all know. This is anything but your classic you grew up reading. The point of view is amazing and still keep the same themes as the classic but with a fresh and dark twist.

The author of "Our Hideous Progeny," C.E. McGill, is only 23 years old. To be a published author at such a young age is quite an accomplishment. But even more impressive is that they have written a debut that is far better than many seasoned writers’ second, third, or fourth novels.

"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.

The tide begins to change, however, when Mary finds old documents belonging to her Uncle Victor. After reading them, she decides to follow in his footsteps, thereby devising a plan to create life. She and Henry, in time, construct a patchwork creature, made from pieces and parts of deceased animals; a creature that will ultimately drive the couple apart due to Mary’s love for it and Henry’s desire to exploit it.

Through Mary’s fight for acclaim and acceptance in the scientific world, McGill does an excellent job of showing the trials of women in the 19th century, particularly for women as intelligent and outspoken as Mary. The men sure do try to keep her down.

In two aspects, though, I wished for a bit more from the novel: pacing and the creature. The tempo of the story is sometimes too slow, too steady, and I never understood the true nature of the creature. Is it dangerous? Gentle? A threat to society? Aside from a few glimpses of its behavior here and there, the creature itself is only a secondary character in the story when it should’ve played a larger role, it being the "Frankenstein" monster.

Nevertheless, the book is a superb debut. McGill sure has a sunny career ahead of them. I’m jealous of their talent.


My sincerest appreciation to C.E. McGill, Harper, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

This queer, feminist retelling of Frankenstein was a wonderful read. I appreciated the handling of Mary’s queerness and how it is, in some ways, undefined. She is not clearly bisexual or lesbian by modern definitions, which is appropriate given her lived experience and time period.

I also loved the self-awareness and internal direction of investigating ‘monstrosity.’ In comparison to Shelley’s depiction of Victor Frankenstein, McGill’s Mary recognizes the monsters of racism and misogyny in others, sometimes immediately and other times after reflection. Mary also reckons with her internalized versions of herself as monster for her attraction to women, her love of science, and defying her socially imposed expectation of ‘civility.’

At times, I did find the text slow and dense, but I acknowledge that the pacing and level of detail is appropriate given the context of the novel. It’s written in the form of an earlier age and directly to parallel the writing of Frankenstein. It is no slower or denser than that, for comparison.

One minor criticism of the book is that quotes from Frankenstein used at the beginning of chapters should have been attributed to Victor Frankenstein rather than Mary Shelly so as not to break immersion. If Mary Sutherland is writing the book, she would attribute the quotes to her kin.

I absolutely adored this retelling! Not only was it told from the female perspective, but she was the main scientist for the whole story. Mary is an amazing protagonist and I was compelled to dive deeper into the novel with each progressing chapter. The ending blew my mind, and I can't wait to explore more works by this author!

The Review

The first thing of Our Hideous Progeny that caught my attention was the eye-catching cover. Looking at it, I expected to read a gothic horror. While the book did provide gothic vibes, there really wasn't much horror to be found. Mary's family connection to Frankenstein and the experiments that she and her husband conducted could be considered horror elements but I didn't find them very horrifying.

Mary's unique character didn't fit into the mold of a stereotypical Victorian woman. What stood out the most was her struggle to fit into that mold. Mary was character was often a bit unlikeable, but I enjoyed it. She was outspoken, assertive, and often argumentative. It was empowering to see a female character that asked alot of questions, challenged the status quo, and stood up for herself in a patriarchial society.

Mary had to face many obstacles to pursue her interests in paleontology. The opportunities for women to have any type of academic career during that time period was very limited...especially in science fields. This was probably my favorite part of the book. I enjoy reading books with female characters in the STEM fields and learning about the historical aspects of it.

Another element of the book that stuck with me was the prejudice and racism that her Indian mentor experienced as a member of the scientific society. This wasn't a major theme in the story, but it made me think about history and in a new way. In the notes at the end, the author names the real life people who inspired her characters. These included Mary Shelly (of course), Mary Anning, Mary Somerville, and Ardaseer Cursetjee Wadia.

Final thoughts

While there were several elements of Our Hideous Progeny that I enjoyed, the Frankenstein aspect of the book didn't quite fit into the overall story. It almost felt like a gimmick to draw interest. The book was also longer than it needed to be. I would have loved to see a more realistic book of a Victorian female scientist. I think it's a story worth telling and the Frankenstein/creation of life takes away that impact.

Thanks Harper and Netgalley for the ARC!

I couldn't stop reading this. I know, I know, I say that a lot. But sometimes a book grabs you by the lapels, draws you close, and whispers such nice things at you that you can't let go either. I couldn't get a chapter in before I was writing a quote down on a post it to remember later.

I thought I knew where the story was going, but it deviated just enough to keep away the smug, "I knew it would..." feelings. Between the lush writing, nerdy name dropping of scientists and books, and lovely callbacks to the original novel this draws from I found this a wholly wonderful experience. I'll be looking for anything else I can get from this author. I really hope they find a fountain of inspiration somewhere and drink heavily.

This book was engrossing as any I’ve ever read, but also suffered for its density, and its pacing issues. I did enjoy it though.

What first grabbed my attention was the title. The second thing to grab my attention was the cover art. The third thing was the description. But what kept my attention--and kept me turning the pages--was the excellent storytelling. McGill has a knack for capturing the time and place of the novel, as well as the voice of an unconventional woman in Victorian England. Mary is an amateur paleontologist in a time when women were not supposed to be capable, let alone interested, in science. Upon finding the mysterious notes left by her great-uncle, Victor Frankenstein, Mary and her husband set out to prove their hypothesis by reanimating an ancient creature. And of course, trouble ensues. Feminist and gothic, this is a riveting tribute to Mary Shelley and her creation.

This was okay. Gorgeous cover, but the story is almost too straight-forward. All the marketing I've seen for this book labels it as a "queer, feminist retelling of Frankenstein" and it is...only that. It was a bit tried-and-true --it was pretty predictable and strangely slow-paced.
The characters were okay, but I didn't find myself really caring about them one way or the other. But, I think with the slow pacing and lack of engaging characters, this book just wasn't my thing. Around the halfway mark it started to pick up the pace, but I just already wasn't invested in the story. I enjoyed the way in which this author wrote, so I'm looking forward to more from them, but this book just wasn't for me.

Author C. E. McGill is a Goodreads favorite, crafting a dark, delicious story for fans of gothic tales, reinventing classic horror stories and modern twists. I loved the cover advertised, and the premise enticed me to request this arc. After reading this book, I feel that the classic author Mary Shelley would be proud to stand alongside McGill, as McGill managed to bring a new, dark elegance to Shelley’s much-loved legendary story of “Frankenstein”. I love it and rate it five of five stars. I will be recommending this book to readers to who love dark academia, queer themes, paleontology and gothic fantasy.

Thank you to Harper via NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this arc for my honest opinion!

*2.5 rounded down for Goodreads rating*

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for my arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

So. This is supposed to be a queer feminist retelling of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". We follow Victor Frankenstein's great-niece, Mary, in 1853 London. Mary and her husband are struggling financially and professionally. But Mary believes that she has found something about her great-uncle's disappearance that can help them change the world of science.

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.

As someone who loves Mary Shelley and "Frankenstein" and someone who studied her and her work multiple times, I wouldn't recommend this to anybody who even barely likes Shelley and "Frankenstein". I think it was a commendable attempt by a first-time novelist but just because something works on paper doesn't mean that it'll be successful in execution.