Pride and Prometheus

Forgoing the humor sometimes associated with the genre, this literary mashup introduces Mary Shelley's Frankenstein monster and his creator to the unmarried Mary Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Kessel (The Moon and the Other) expanded his 2008 novella (which won a Shirley Jackson Award) into this moody exploration of unrequited love, hubris, and what it means to be human—heavy stuff. Fans of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy may be disappointed to see them as a staid married couple, surfacing only in the background as younger sister Mary becomes intrigued after a brief encounter with a tormented Dr. Frankenstein, who has been tasked by his creation to provide him with a bride. Mary's character gets a welcome reprise as she is ten years older and wiser when we meet her now, and while not especially beautiful (a point deeply emphasized throughout the story), the sententiousness of her youth has softened into something approaching self-acceptance and empathy for others.