The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter

Written by Theodora Goss

Narrated by Kate Reading

Based on some of literature’s horror and science fiction classics, this “tour de force of reclaiming the narrative, executed with impressive wit and insight” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) debut is the story of a remarkable group of women who come together to solve the mystery of a series of gruesome murders—and the bigger mystery of their own origins.

Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jun 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781508238911

Theodora Goss

Theodora Goss is the World Fantasy Award–winning author of many publications, including the short story collection In the Forest of Forgetting; Interfictions, a short story anthology coedited with Delia Sherman; Voices from Fairyland, a poetry anthology with critical essays and a selection of her own poems; The Thorn and the Blossom, a novella in a two-sided accordion format; and the poetry collection Songs for Ophelia; and the novels, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, and The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl. She has been a finalist for the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, Seiun, and Mythopoeic Awards, as well as on the Tiptree Award Honor List, and her work has been translated into eleven languages. She teaches literature and writing at Boston University and in the Stonecoast MFA Program. Visit her at TheodoraGoss.com.

Reviews for The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter

[RebeccaJennifer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Incredible. Goss breathes new life into classics and their heroines, or the silenced heroines who should have been there. I can't recommend this book highly enough to anyone with an interest in classic Victorian literature, Gothic horror, monsters, or just a great Halloween (or any day) read. I can't wait for the sequel.

[Ipek Erdalli Buchanan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an OK book, I'm not sure it achieved what it was going for and it left too many loose ends...

[Sarah Perchikoff · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant. For the characters alone, it's a great story and the narrator is so good at doing all the voices.

[Kinjal Kumar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved the narrative perspectives. Thought it was a brilliant twist on the horror classics.

[CaroleWeaveLane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think because the author knew her subject, and had travelled to above mentioned places as well as having lectures on Frankenstein and Shelley. Her subjects were all different and with spoke with different voices. I loved Holmes, as I have long been a fan of his. I could see him, smoking his pipe and drinking Mrs Poole's tea. It was a vast undertaking to bring in these Monster women, all living together, all sisters , all comrades. Well done Theodore Goss. I will listen to the second book and travel to Budapest, and Vienna, where I imagine we will be travelling to.

[Brittanie Jordan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book. It tied in humor, mystery, murder, fear, and a genuine authenticity of the story. I enjoyed how the audio book switched between writers and gave an interesting take on each of the ladies perspectives. I can't wait for the next book.

[fizzayounis88 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting story and a very well-narrated audiobook. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

[Sarah Emert Gross · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This reads like Victortian fanfiction complete with "author" conversions inserted randomly throughout the book. The last several hours also feel like they exist only to set up a series of books

The concept is fine. It's half gender-bent penny horror monsters, but they're the good guys, and half exploring the consequences of the mad scientists. However, it was very meandering. Every time a character broke off from the main group, the author went into excruciating detail into what happened with both groups, after you already knew how both groups met up again.

You also get many moments where one character will say to another character, "What was going through your mind?" And they explain it, in detail. But this isn't framed as a conversation. It's framed as part of a text that Catherine is writing. The story is taking place both in the passed tense in her book and the present text that is author notes that are written as a back and forth conversation but inside the text that Catherine is writing

[Pamela Gormish · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. It's a unique take on multiple classic horror stories told in an entertaining way.

[Parker Gladhart-Wells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fun and interesting take on the monsters of classical literature.

[Brittany Hall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fun, riveting, complex, holds your attention, great storytelling, long listen!

[lauren · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Stunning work of fiction that reads like a classic with a modern twist. I loved the inclusion of well known fictional characters such as Sherlock Holmes (and more but I don't wanna give spoilers). I'm elated there are sequels. The narrator was perfect for the novel. I alternated between the audiobook and the ebook (as is my custom).

[Casey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story and the narrators voice were both great. I didn’t like the separate character narrations interjecting in the storyline.

[Kimberly C Blankenship · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love the premise. Extremely well write with nice twists to keep the story interesting. Character notations and comments on the story are a very inventive way to flesh them out and give the reader insight. Highly recommend.

[Nancy Anson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting compilation of characters and a writing style new to me. Kept me well entertained while listening although I could have done with less of Diana!
I am always looking for Sherlock Holmes stories and he fits in nicely with these heroines who have been so used by their insane fathers!
Looking for a sequel.

[Ona · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic reading of this book. Funny and entertaining as well as intriguing. Great for those who are already aware of the stories Goss has drawn from.

[Bernie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely spellbinding! I would recommend this book to mystery/ horror fans alike.

[Ronika Alexander-Ortman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining but very weird ending. Loved the humor throughout and the storytelling method. Overall 3.75 stars

[Monica Cuartero · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the story overall. The mix and matching of lots of Victorian novels was done surprisingly well and I didn't have a hard time believing they existed in one world. Some parts of the book felt a bit odd to me but it didn't take away from the story.

[Lucia Garcia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the narrative. The whole mix and match of all the "monsters" from the 1800s was indeed fun but a bit forced.
I did enjoyed the feminist twist to it as a "second look" of the original works, I found my own thoughts and opinions of certain situations being echoed by this story.
I do want to find out what happens in the next instalment.

[Jennifer Quijano · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Better then expected. Would recommend to anyone that enjoys a light mystery

[Kim Webb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting combo of story telling from several perspectives. Hard to put down.

[Susan Young · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I couldn’t finish it. I got within 3 hours and just felt like I was forcing myself to finish and that didn’t make any sense. The narrator is phenomenal. She is seriously one of the best I’ve listened to. Each character has their own unique voice and is very well done.

The story just wasn’t my favorite. It’s a mashup of famous “monster” books like Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and more except told by a female daughter perspective but throw in Sherlock Holmes. If you liked the original classics, pass on this one because I would describe it as a strange bastardization of those classics. It’s not poorly written exactly, just didn’t contain the imagination to create a story good enough to do these famous characters justice. Maybe I’m not the target audience?

[Robert Gough · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I quite enjoyed that. The narrator was excellent! The story was inventive, in a fan fiction sort of way. It lumped together authors and stories from different areas and made a cohesive cross over/alternate approach.

[Adriane Guzman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This books was a lot of fun. The characters were interesting and the narration was top notch.

[natalie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Tiny spoiler: The way Sherlock was written was not a characteristic of Sherlock Holmes in previous books. There were a lot of unanswered questions but not in a ‘fun make up your own conclusions’ type of book.

[stefanie bush · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love this story! So cleverly written! And I love the narrator! She has an amazing voice and really brings the story to life!

[Jenny George · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The book was fine the recording is terrible! Missing chunks of the narrative & ending in the middle of a sentence - very annoying!!!

[Terry N · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a lot of fun! I adored the feminist underpinnings of the story. The author did a wonderful job of drawing various Victorian tales and characters together. I felt it lost a little steam at the end - hence the 4 stars and not 5.

[Francois Pretorius · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Very predictable, using ineffective way of narration by having female main characters write the plot.