by Megan Shepherd
In 1896 H. G. Wells published his classic novel The Island of Dr. Moreau. The book dealt with a disgraced formerly eminent physician named Henri Moreau who was driven out of England after his cruel experiments with animals were discovered. In question was the then legal practice of vivisection, experimental surgery on live animals. This practice was hotly debated and soon made illegal due to the cruelty the animals were exposed to. He then settled on a small volcanic island and continued his experiments. The story is told from the point of view of a shipwrecked scientist who gradually learns of the activities of Dr. Moreau. Shepherd's wonderfully grotesque novel tells basically the same story, but from the point of view of the doctor's estranged daughter Juliet (there is no mention of a daughter in the original story). The characters from the original are all there, Montgomery the assistant and Juliet's love interest, Edward the shipwrecked scientist, and of course, Henri Moreau. Shepherd does a fabulous job writing this story in the same Victorian era style as the original was written in. It will catch your interest from the first chapter and hold it until the very end. This book is the first in a proposed trilogy. Read the original book, too!
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