Our Hideous Progeny: A thrilling Gothic Adventure

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Compelling and utterly absorbing, Our Hideous Progeny is an artfully crafted debut that echoes the dark essence of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein while maintaining a fascinating originality all of its own. SUSAN STOKES-CHAPMAN, author of PANDORA C.E. McGill’s richly detailed and utterly compelling debut was a deliciously gothic and feminist exploration of ambition, obsession, betrayal and love that I couldn’t get enough of! Witty, dark and sharp as a scalpel, it's a dazzling exploration of the macabre ambitions of Victorian science and a moving meditation on grief. C.E. McGill brilliantly captures what it's like to be a woman in a man's world. LIZZIE POOK, author of MOONLIGHT AND THE PEARLER'S DAUGHTER A gripping Gothic tale of grief and ambition, passion and intrigue.”—Jess Kidd, author of The Night Ship The writing is lush and beautifully atmospheric, as intricately woven as the stitches that adorn the eponymous ‘creature’, which I felt definitely showcases the gothic/horror genre to perfection!

Fans of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and historical horror with a queer feminist twist will not be disappointed. VERDICT In this immersive, richly detailed novel, Mary is an enthralling heroine with whom readers will empathize, and owing to assured, luscious prose, whose plight they will champion." — Library Journal(starred review)It’s been such an exciting week, and I’m thrilled I get to announce this at last! Innumerable thanks to my agent, Sue, for all her hard work (and for managing to negotiate this deal while BOTH she and Kirsty were on trains, no less!). When Sue first sent OHP out to editors, I settled myself in for what I’d heard could be a long and trying process, only to be absolutely blown away by the speed and enthusiasm of the responses — Kirsty’s first among them! I’m so grateful to Sue for her Agenty Expertise, and can’t wait to bear witness to Kirsty’s Editory Expertise as we work more on OHP over the next year. It’s always wonderful to meet someone who feels like they truly love and understand your work, and Kirsty Dunseath is just such a someone. OHP couldn’t be in better hands 🙂 I adored Mary, who’s character takes inspiration from not one but three impressive women of the 19th C: Mary Shelley, Mary Anning (the self-taught palaeontologist who found the first Ichthyosaur fossil) and Mary Somerville (one of the first women admitted into the Royal Astronomical Society), and really enjoyed discovering just how much of their stories connected to our refreshingly bold and sharp-tongued protagonist—especially Mary Anning, who seemed to have to the most in common with our plesiosaur-obsessed MC. Plot: As someone who really wanted to like Frankenstein but just couldn’t get into the writing style, I appreciated the way the plot both took inspiration from the source material while adding a commentary all its own! Having the central story revolve around the great niece* of Frankenstein was so interesting, and a huge strength of this book.

Well, read it and find out. It's a beautiful book. Absolutely sumptuous. I was completely mesmerized by it. I borrowed the copy I read - I want to own it.A fantastic read: I felt everything about Mary, her simmering anger and her intellectual delight, so very clearly. FREYA MARSKE, author of THE LAST BINDING TRILOGY Our Hideous Progeny is a sumptuous tale of ambition and obsession, of forbidden love and sabotage; a novel that blends classic, immersive storytelling with contemporary themes. A subversive, feminist, queer spin-off of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein set in the 1850s and narrated by Mary Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s great-niece. AND THAT COVER. It’s set in 1851, at the height of the Victorian era’s fascination with all things dinosaur and follows Elizabeth (the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein) who (having spent the better part of her life being looked down on for being a woman interested in science and palaeontology) yearns to find scientific acclaim beyond the footnotes of other people’s research. But without any powerful connections or wealth, neither Mary or her husband stand a chance of ever succeeding. Nevertheless, the book is a superb debut. McGill sure has a sunny career ahead of them. I’m jealous of their talent.

Besides previous scientific discoveries and paradigms, the story was also centred around the position of women in science, featuring Mary in an almost activist-y role. It was aggravating to see how her knowledge and intelligence was constantly undermined, ridiculed and shoved aside, and how her position became more and more vulnerable each day. It was maddening to see how men were favoured in high societies, just for gender reasons, and although I myself have not experienced this first-hand, I felt the rage in Mary’s narration, and it has been long since I lived through a fictional character so vicariously.When Mary - a scientist struggling to make her mark in 1850s London - discovers journals belonging to her great-uncle, Victor Frankenstein, she embarks on what might be the greatest adventure of all.... Compelling andutterly absorbing, Our Hideous Progeny is an artfully crafted debut that echoes the dark essence of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein while maintaining a fascinating originality all of its own" — Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora Compelling and utterly absorbing... an artfully crafted debut' SUSAN STOKES-CHAPMAN, author of PANDORA C.E. McGill Ha, great question! Even though it may feel a little bit like cheating, I find that one surefire way to push past my own doubts about a project and fi …more Ha, great question! Even though it may feel a little bit like cheating, I find that one surefire way to push past my own doubts about a project and find motivation to write is to talk about my ideas with others. As you point out, when I first came up with the idea for OHP, I thought it was ridiculous - but when I jokingly mentioned the idea at Thanksgiving dinner, my family loved it and demanded to see it played out. Given that little boost of self-confidence, I ended up considering the idea more seriously and realizing that there was actually far more depth and possibility in this "Frankenstein with dinosaurs" concept than I'd initially given it credit for. I find that having a trusted friend or family member or classmate or critique group to brainstorm with (and to demand to see that first chapter written out!) helps me realize, through their reaction to it, what actually drew me to the idea in the first place and why it's worth pursuing. In other words: if you haven't got any self-confidence at home yet, store bought is fine. A very tightly-written creative spin off of the tale of Frankenstein that beautifully captures the themes in the original, while adding more that will delight readers of historical fiction. Without a doubt, this is one of my favourite reads of the year. FANTASYBOOKCRITIC.COM

I suppose that is why it often makes me sad to read about history, or even natural history, as you do; I cannot help but think of everyone whose tale cannot fit in one book, those poor creatures who remain lost or forgotten. Do you think that one day, some Mary of the future will sketch our bones and wonder what we might have been in life?” Somehow, this book takes an enormous amount of elements (and three genres! This is a gothic victorian sci-fi!) and balances them perfectly. It's slow-moving, but deliciously so. Mary is a fabulously nuanced protagonist on a journey of grief, reflection, ambition and awakening, and the way McGill wrote her inner world had me scrambling for a highlighter. Maisie, Mary's sister-in-law and love interest is a really delightful character and, from my limited perspective, a refreshingly honest and sympathetic portrayal of someone who lives with chronic illness. Henry, Mary's husband, is one of the most frustrating characters I've come across in a while... but realistically so. I've met many a Henry and at no point did I question why Mary had been drawn to him in the first place, or why she's pulling away from him now. 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. This story follows the great niece of Victor Frankenstein and upon finding his papers she follows in his footsteps. A strange story with a headstrong female protaganist that has a penchant for fossils and dinosaurs. Perhaps I am meant to drown after all. But if I do, then at least it will have been by my own hand.”Sarah J. Maas's sexy, richly imagined series continues with the journey of Feyre's fiery sister, Nesta. McGill’s narrative features an intricate reworking of Shelley’s themes around science and ethics, reproduction, mortality, motherhood and loss. But McGill builds on these for a moving, intelligent exploration of prejudice, gender and queer identity. I thought this was incredibly compelling, accessible but well-researched, with echoes of Sarah Waters, Sarah Moss and The Essex Serpent - although I’m lukewarm about Moss and not so keen on Perry either but loved this. Fluid, thoughtful, and exceptionally entertaining. But after uncovering clues to her great uncle’s disappearance, Mary devises a plan to realize her ambitions. Like Victor Frankenstein did long ago, she and Henry will create life. No one will be able to ignore their achievement—the scientific community must accept them if they succeed.