Horror infused novel set in Switzerland

Submitted: 9th June 2025

Love, Sex & Frankenstein – Caroline Lea

The horror of this story is not what you might expect. It’s the story of Mary Shelley, the author of perhaps one of the most horror fuelled novels of all time – Frankenstein. However, this is the story of the author herself before and after she wrote the book. This is her in all her unadulterated anger and fury as her love life and life in general spiral out of control….

Map of locations in Love, Sex & Frankenstein

BOARDING PASS INFORMATION

Destination : Geneva

Author guide: Caroline Lea

Genre: historical

Food and drink to accompany: whatever you can concoct

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A novel to transport you to the birthplace of Frankenstein

Map of locations in Love, Sex & Frankenstein

What I love about Caroline Lea, is that she always takes you in the most unexpected of directions and infuses her novels with hidden menace. Take The Glass Woman which looked into the Icelandic Witchcraft trials. Spooky and disturbing on so many levels. And I was THERE for it.

This novel is powerful, full of rage and will blow your mind. It details the life of Mary Shelley who is eighteen when she flees London with her lover Percy Shelley. They have lost a child, her sister seems to be after her lover. It’s all going wrong. So Geneva will be a new start?

Well, that’s where Villa Diodati comes into play. It’s a grand villa but being stuck indoors whilst the rain lashes the outside is no fun. Add the rather infamous Lord Byron and who knows what might happen. Tensions mount, passions rise and anger starts to be fuelled in ways that will have very unexpected consequences. For entertainment, they start to write supernatural stories round the fire….
This is not just the start of Frankenstein but of a beast, a powerful force, a notion, that things will never be the same again.

Caroline Lea, you have earned a spot on the Trophy Tower with this book. If you have ever wanted to see the passion, the anger, the hunger, the sheer energy of what an author goes into a book – then Mary Shelley’s story is for you. Caroline has taken that rage and made it her own. Beware. This book is unforgettable.