Lucy Undying

In Stoker Dracula’s first victim, Lucy’s death and rebirth mostly serves as a lesson to showcase the bloody, vivid reality of Dracula’s hunger. Lucy Undying, White reclaims and empowers her.

Lucy Undying flits between her's and 21 century Iris who discovers Lucy's journals which reveal what happened to her after becoming a vampire, told via excerpts from her diary as she travels from 1890s Whitby across the world up until the modern day.

These entries, filled with female rage, loss, grief and queer longing, neatly intertwine with the narrative of the other main protagonist, Iris. Heir to a ghoulish (quite literally) health empire where “blood is life”, she is desperate to escape her bloodsucking family and reclaim her own path as she moves to London to deal with clearing out her old family estate.

I loved the transition between historical reassessment of the literary Lucy to 21 century medical conspiracy and I delighted in the reveal that the greatest monster was Mina.

When Lucy and Iris eventually meet when Lucy shows up to help Iris ‘catalogue’ the mansion she has inherited in London, uncovering all manner of mysteries about the house and each other. Both are women trying to escape controlling figures and come to terms with their trauma and – as is revealed as the narrative progresses – it turns out that Dracula really does cast a long, horrid shadow.

The story chips away at the mystery behind Dracula, leaving you guessing about his fate and lingering, traumatic influence on Lucy at every twist and turn. There are slightly gruesome scenes too, peppered throughout the book. Haunting scenes that include animals, stalking, creaky gothic mansions and Dracula call backs aplenty for those seeking the darker thread in the story. I also liked it was at least three quarters of the book before Dracula entered the chat.

The slow-burn romance between Lucy and Iris is a nice touch. Not only does she make Lucy become a more fleshed out protagonist, it adds a beautiful twist of hope and melancholy throughout.