Archibald McCandless, a Glasgow medical student in the 1880s, tells how his friend, the surgeon Godwin Baxter, rescued a drowned pregnant woman and transplanted her unborn child's brain into her body. The result is Bella Baxter, an adult with an infant's mind who learns at speed, runs off with a lawyer, and sees Europe and its hypocrisies with fresh eyes. Gray presents the story as an annotated found manuscript, with a closing letter that contradicts it.
Pick this up for Victorian pastiche that doubles as a satire of class, marriage and Scottish identity, with Gray's own illustrations and typography as part of the joke. It fits anyone who liked Frankenstein and wants the premise turned toward a woman who ends up directing her own life.
Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Literary Connoisseur. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1992
- Language
- EN
