What mood is established in the first chapter? Use an atlas to show readers the location of Switzerland and Geneva. Following that discussion, explain to readers the outline of Shelley’s Frankenstein and how she came to write the novel. Ask readers what they know about the Frankenstein story. Most readers will likely not have read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein but will be familiar with some aspect of the story through films based upon the novel or popular culture references. Ask readers to use reference books or electronic research sources to find out as much information as they can about the following: Cornelius Agrippa, alabaster, alchemy, apothecary, Aramaic, Archidoxes of Magic, augury, brazier, cadaverous, cauterize, clairvoyance, codex, divination, gossamer, malodorous, Methuselah, pallor, palpable, Paracelsus, paragon, passata-sotto, pianoforte, Sanskrit, Sturm und Drang, tryst, unguent, and viscera.

There are names and terms cited in the story that will likely be unfamiliar to most readers. But his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science, and love-and how much he is willing to sacrifice. Impossible odds, dangerous alchemy, and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn.

Unwilling to give up on his brother, Victor enlists his beautiful cousin, Elizabeth, and his best friend, Henry, on a treacherous search for the ingredients to create the forbidden Elixir of Life.

Victor’s twin, Konrad, falls ill, and no doctor is able to cure him. In this prequel to Mary Shelley’s gothic classic, Frankenstein, fifteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein begins a dark journey that will change his life forever. And as if their task was not complicated enough, a new realm of danger-that of illicit love-threatens to end the ordeal in tragedy. Victor, along with his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and friend Henry, immediately set out to find a man who was once known for his alchemical works to help them create the formula.ĭetermined to save Konrad, the three friends scale the highest trees in Strumwald, dive into the deepest lakes, and even make an unthinkable sacrifice in their quest for the elixir’s ingredients. Father forbids them from ever entering the room again, but when Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is drawn back to the Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. They stumble upon the Dark Library and discover secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures.until the day their adventures turn all too real. Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein.

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel