The Monsters We Deserve

'Do monsters always stay in the book where they were born? Are they content to live out their lives on paper, and never step foot into the real world?' The Villa Diodati, on the shore of Lake Geneva, 1816: the Year without Summer. As Byron, Polidori, and Mr and Mrs Shelley shelter from the unexpected weather, old ghost stories are read and new ghost stories imagined. Born by the twin brains of the Shelleys is Frankenstein, one of the most influential tales of horror of all time. In a remote mountain house, high in the French Alps, an author broods on Shelley's creation. Reality and perception merge, fuelled by poisoned thoughts. Humankind makes monsters; but who really creates who? This is a book about reason, the imagination, and the creative act of reading and writing. Marcus Sedgwick's ghostly, menacing novel celebrates the legacy of Mary Shelley's literary debut in its bicentenary year.

Observer

“An ambitious and original take on the gothic”

Fallen Star Stories Blog

“Quiet, riveting and compelling with an unnerving atmosphere and a deeply troubling sense of unrest that must be experienced. Genre-defying, truly great horror”

The Bookseller, 'One to Watch'

“A taut menacing ghost story'”

Nicola Davies

“Wow, so elegantly done, so intelligent and so dark”

Askews Children's Newsletter

“Deeply atmospheric and gothicly creepy, this is probably my favourite Sedgwick book to date... This is a must'”

The Bookbag

“There is a great cinematic quality to the writing”

Guardian

“This slender, beautifully written novel is probably best read in one atmospheric sitting”

The Lady

“Monsters are born in the pages of books but spread their twisted limbs in far wider and unexpected ways. This premise is at the centre of this slick, teasing and knowing novel... Erudite and gripping, this is a dialogue between literary traditions... Exquisitely written, the book is also beautifully illustrated – in monochrome. The thinking reader's spook-fest'”

South Wales Evening Post.

“This claustrophobic monstrous tale will lure you in to witness the tortured mind of a writer”

SFX.

“Beautifully written... Sedgwick sustains the sense of dread well'”

About the Author

Marcus Sedgwick is the bestselling author of over thirty books. He has been shortlisted seven times for the Carnegie and other major prizes such as the Costa, Guardian and Blue Peter Book Award. In 2014 he received the eminent Printz Award, for his novel Midwinterblood. Marcus has also received two Printz Honors, for Revolver in 2011 and The Ghosts of Heaven in 2016, giving him the most citations to date for America's most notable book prize for writing for young adults. The Monsters We Deserve was published by Zephyr in 2018. marcussedgwick.com @marcussedgwick

Reviews

News