This YA novel, the first in a trilogy, introduces the reader to the members of the Athena Club. It is their origin story. What is the Athena Club? It is a group of young women in London ca. 1900 who have one thing in common — a monstrous past! They are Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein and Beatrice Rappaccini. A series of gruesome murders of prostitutes will bring these young women together with a little help from none other than Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson! Author Theodora Goss was inspired to write this story when she noticed that in 19th century literature, “mad scientists” often begin the work of creating female monsters but then give up or destroy their work. Goss uses this literature as a jumping off point; Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Shelley’s Frankenstein, H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau, and the previously unknown to me Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathanial Hawthorne are all backstory for this novel. I’d only ever read Frankenstein, and I don’t think you absolutely need to have read these other works, but I think my experience might have been enriched for it if I had. In this novel, the ladies have their say about their fathers and find the strength to reclaim their lives and independence while working on the Whitechapel murders and the mysterious Societe des Alchimistes, a shady organization in which all of their fathers had membership.
The novel opens with 21-year-old Mary Jekyll dealing with the aftermath of her mother’s death. Her father had died many years ago and her mother had suffered distressing mental health issues before dying. Mary finds herself in rather dire financial straits, selling off possessions and letting staff go in order to pay the bills. Amongst the legal papers left behind, she finds a bank statement showing regular payments to a “Hyde” at a home for fallen women. Mary hopes this is her father’s old colleague, wanted for murder, and she consults with Sherlock Holmes about pursuing this investigation (and perhaps getting the much needed reward money). Holmes and Watson are investigating the Whitechapel murders and find that their needs and Mary’s intersect. When Mary gets to the Magdalen house, she discovers not the man Hyde but a bold and sassy 14-year-old named Diana Hyde, his daughter. Why was her mother paying for this girl’s upkeep? Despite her financial limitations, Mary must take this girl home, and thus begins a contentious sisterly relationship. Diana, thanks to her sketchy upbringing, has street smarts and an uncanny ability to climb and get into places she oughtn’t. Diana also has a clearer understanding of the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde than Mary does.
Another discovery from Mary’s father’s papers is that he was in regular correspondence with other men of science in England and Europe, and that his work in “transmutation” was a matter of great interest and alarm to some of these men. It becomes clear that all of them were interested in evolution and experiments to hurry it along and make better, stronger, smarter humans. The thing is, they were all experimenting on their daughters. Mary and Diana begin searching for these women and find Beatrice, a beautiful woman whose breath is poison and touch is death; Justine, the powerful but thoughtful giantess; and Catherine, who is both human female and puma. These young women are all social outcasts, freaks who are used by others for entertainment. Each gets to tell her story and together they find sisterhood and a desire to pursue their own interests, but they also are determined to help Holmes solve the Whitechapel murders and uncover the Societe des Alchimistes. That latter task will be the work of the entire trilogy and it looks like in Book 2, the Athena Club goes to Europe, where Van Helsing and Mina (Harker? From Dracula?) are involved.
The narrative style of this novel is quite engaging and “meta”. Catherine Moreau, who has a talent for writing, has decided to write up the exploits of the Athena Club much as Watson writes up Holmes’ investigations for the popular press. While she writes, though, her fellow club members frequently interrupt to complain or add information. It creates a lively and charming atmosphere and helps reveal the different personalities of these young women, who have created their own family. I enjoyed this story and it really has made me want to go read the novels that inspired it.