Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.
Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect. (From Goodreads)
I loved every second of this incredible story. For reasons unknown, the second I had it in my hands I knew it was a drop-everything-and-read kind of book. I just found myself immediately swept up into this Victorian gothic horror story that was simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. I was fascinated, enthralled, and more than once my pulse sped up. I closed this book feeling like I had just lived through Juliet's experience, her world, her fears, the characters in her life had all danced in front of me. Not only did it paint an amazing picture, but it triggered my imagination and gave me room for my own visions of what it looked like when the story unfolded.
Everything I love about gothic and Victorian literature was executed so perfectly in this novel. Juliet travels a long way from living in poverty and cleaning hospitals in London to a remote island to find her long-lost father. Each point in the story, each secret unveiled, raises the stakes and it becomes much more than a book than can easily fall into any category. It really stands out to me as unique.
Juliet is the perfect gothic heroine. She's torn between her sense of propriety and staying true to her strong, willful-self. She's been put through the ringer - her family has faced scandal, she's lived in poverty as an orphan, and then she braves a sketchy ship to live on a remote island. Yet she manages to maintain grace and the fierce fire within her. She's also struggling to identify who she is outside of society's view of her and whether or not she's like her father. The way she rationalizes all the ways she is like him, yet is completely horrified by him at the same time is so fascinating. This also sets up an interesting relationship with Montgomery, who believes he has no choice but to follow in Juliet's father's footsteps. I love their relationship, but if any couple is built on moral shades of gray - this one is.
The characters are brilliant, but the way in which this world is sculpted is absolutely breathtaking. It's dark and you can almost see it playing out in front of you in tones of sepia and black. It has that vintage feel to it, yet it's so vivid. Even the island with the jungle, created so outside of society is still governed by it's rules in a way that makes it impossible to forget just where and when this is taking place. The animals turned human are so well detailed, the screams they make when they're operated on are so loud, and the way they are humanized by Montgomery is so tender they just become a vital piece of this world.
The Madman's Daughter is an exceptional debut by Megan Shepherd. It's everything a novel should be, incuding something I feel like I haven't read before, even despite the fact that it's inspired by another book. I'm so grateful this is the first in a series, because I'm not willing to let go yet.
