Review: Our Hideous Progeny by C. E. McGill

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OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: C. E. MCGILL (THEY/THEM)was born in Scotland and raised on the east coast of the US, in North Carolina. In 2020, pining for the drizzly green countryside (and universal healthcare) once more, they and their family moved back to Scotland.

A lifelong fan of science both real and imagined, they originally studied aerospace engineering at NC State University. After discovering an unexpected allergy to lab reports, however, they switched instead to a minor in Physics and a Frankensteinian major of their own making entitled “Narratives of Science in Fiction and History,” an interdisciplinary degree on the interactions between scientific history and science fiction.

C. E. McGill’s short fiction has appeared in Fantasy Magazine and Strange Constellations, and they are a two-time finalist for the Dell Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing. When not writing, they can be found reading, baking, sewing, crying over characters on TV, or preparing elaborate meals for the reincarnated spirit of a wilful and demanding princess who cannot be convinced that she is, in this life, a cat.

OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein. She knows her great uncle disappeared in mysterious circumstances in the Arctic but she doesn't know why or how...
The 1850s is a time of discovery and London is ablaze with the latest scientific theories and debates, especially when a spectacular new exhibition of dinosaur sculptures opens at the Crystal Palace. Mary, with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, is keen to make her name in this world of science, alongside her geologist husband Henry, but without wealth and connections, their options are limited.

But when Mary discovers some old family papers that allude to the shocking truth behind her great-uncle's past, she thinks she may have found the key to securing their future... Their quest takes them to the wilds of Scotland, to Henry's intriguing but reclusive sister Maisie, and to a deadly chase with a rival who is out to steal their secret...

FORMAT/INFO: Our Hideous Progeny will be published on May 4th 2023 by Doubleday in the U.K, and on May 9th 2023 by Harper in the U.S. It will be available in hardcover format and contains 400 pages.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: This book was simply brilliant.

Meet Mary, born out of wedlock, and deposited in her grandmother's care following her parents' death. She had a rather lonely childhood, and is now Mrs. Sutherland, wife of one of the most infuriating men in 1850s London. She has a great interest in palaeontology, and is shown to be rather talented, but the fact that she is a woman in that time simply means that she has to live in the shadow of her husband Henry. As he struggles to make a name for himself and gain his footing in some academic circles, she finds evidence of a creation in her long-lost great-uncle's research, and convinces Henry to undertake the creation of something inspired by it.

"But I have always been a beastly little thing at heart, it seems."

The narration in this book flits between the past and the present, and gives readers a great view into defining moments of Mary's life. She is given company, only to have it taken away rather abruptly. She is given small mercies in the form of kindness from neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Jamsetjee, who encourage her interest in palaeontology. Though setting the reader up to sympathise with the protagonist, the author does a great job of showing us her shortcomings. Mary is smart, and feisty, but she is desperate to escape the shackles of her low-birth and makes rather unwise choices, and lands up with a husband whose talents lie in mediocrity, spite, and making even more foolish choices.

The story is structured to wonderfully include all the themes in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and nowhere do they feel forced into the narrative. As the story progresses, the events that occur raise intelligent questions about the different between intention and invention, about the nature of science, and raise ethical considerations. It raises many points for discussions that center around bias and prejudice. One of the ways it diverges from the classic is in Mary's reaction to her creation: where Victor Frankenstein showed abandonment, the protagonist here grows to love the dependent creation that she pieced together to life. While the effort to make it arose of a need to prove a point and establish oneself, she recognises the need to take responsibility and act for the best.

"I should like that, I think; to make an utter fool of myself, and be regarded not as a bad example of womanhood, but merely a bad example."

Classics give us a great window into the past. Retellings and reimagining give us an opportunity to create space to use that window to include themes relevant today, and Charlie uses this to the fullest. She explores Mary's queer desires and her want for companionship. She showcases how difficulty it was for women to be taken seriously in academia, and the extra privileges they had to have been lucky to have to make that happen. From today's perspective, Mary's situation is almost pitiful, because she relies on her husband making wise choices, and on him being reasonable enough to credit her for more than her illustrations for his scientific papers and journals. While she is the mastermind behind their operation, she is wholly at his mercy, and one wrong step from him puts her only chance to establish herself into total jeopardy. Anyway, she isn't guaranteed anything. And of course, many different parts of the book only bring to light the higher behavioural standards that were expected of women, as they were expected to play the limited roles they assigned.

While Mary is feisty and recognises the extent of male privilege in those times, she is also kind and sympathetic. While her husband's shortcomings become more apparent and make her want to increase the distance between them, she still manages to take into consideration how his childhood might have affected his view of his family. A big part of the book showcases the sexism prevalent in those times, and her frustration at the stark contrast in the barriers that she has to cross, compared to what her husband would, but also brings to consideration the uneven footing created by other factors like finances and race. Overall, this book provides a great modern reworking of the themes in the original, along with additional commentary on the privilege, prejudice and bias, that is relevant to this day.

CONCLUSION:  Our Hideous Progeny is 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.