Finished with Frankenstein and ready for your next chilling read? Here are five novels similar to Frankenstein and a bit about why we think each of these might be the next best book you’ll read.
For Life as We Don’t Know It: Dracula by Bram Stoker
In our cultural memory, Dracula and Frankenstein often occupy similar spaces, for good reason. Both books examine what it means to be alive by contrasting life as we know it with something unknown, whether that is a created monster in the case of Frankenstein or an eternally-living vampire, in the case of Dracula.
“Remember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker.”
For the Science Experiments: The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
What happens when technology goes too far? What are the consequences of ambition on the people around you? H. G. Wells has plenty of great books to read if you loved Frankenstein, and the real-world ramifications of scientific experiments might make The Invisible Man the easiest next read.
“To do such a thing would be to transcend magic. And I beheld, unclouded by doubt, a magnificent vision of all that invisibility might mean to a man, -- the mystery, the power, the freedom.”
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For the Darkness: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
In Frankenstein, we see the restless rumblings of a creature trying to find a path forward in a life they weren’t expecting. That restlessness comes with a darkness as the threat of death looms. For a similar darkness, consider reading another classic novel, Jane Eyre. Though Charlotte Brontë’s classic doesn’t deal with the science and horror of Frankenstein, she similarly uses the shadows of death and darkness to prompt readers to consider what living looks like in the light.
For the Mystery: Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie
While Frankenstein isn’t as pure of a mystery as Agatha Christie’s books, Mary Shelley keeps us on our toes as we watch the story of the created creature unfold. If you’re looking for more mystery, consider Death Comes as the End, Christie’s historical mystery set in ancient Egypt.
“Sometimes what you think is an end is only a beginning. And that wouldn't do at all.”
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For the Unsettling Setting: The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818, but she set the book in the 1700s, making it a work of historical fiction, even if it was only set a few decades in the past. Laura Purcell also writes historical fiction with The Shape of Darkness, skipping back centuries with her book. Set in Victorian Bath, the book came out in 2021. Both authors use the sense of a tangled history to make their stories satisfyingly unsettling for today’s readers.
“She’s always thought it’s cruel to make mourners sing. If there’s one thing she understands about grief, it’s how it chokes: the fingers of death, squeezing the throats of the living.”
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