In Mary Shelley’s classic FRANKENSTEIN, there’s a scene in which Victor Frankenstein begins making a mate for his monster, before wising up and destroying it. But what, asks Hilary Bailey’s FRANKENSTEIN’S BRIDE, if he didn’t put a stop to his own experiment?
First published in the UK in 1995 and new to these shores from Sourcebooks, BRIDE is an unofficial sequel that finds Victor remarried and a father, following the tragic events of the original. As narrated by Jonathan Goodall – a young man of means whom Victor befriends – the story notes that Victor harbors an unnatural interest in a girl named Maria, even though he’s devoted to another.
Strangely, she’s a one-of-a-kind opera singer: mute when she tries to speak, but a bird in song. One night, Victors is nearly murdered, slashed with a knife some 30 times, and Maria is the only witness to the crime. As the matter is investigated – and a rather tall, ungainly fellow is spotted lurking in the shadows – dark secrets begin to surface.
I’m naturally drawn to “what if?” plays on classic genre literature, and Bailey’s story – more mystery than horror – is a hair better than the just-average entry. In staying true to Shelley’s voice, she offers the same Gothic feel, as well as its trappings, like more detail than sometimes need be.
But points to her for not taking the story exactly where I expected it to go – after all, this is not Universal’s THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, except for sharing a germ of an idea. It’s not very long, which bodes well for those unaccustomed to the Gothic style, and includes Shelley’s original novel in the back, both for posterity and added value. –Rod Lott
