Melinda Taub

Mary Bennet has always been ignored by her family - her beautiful, perfect sisters, her nervous mother, her disinterested father - but she lives a rich life nonetheless. Inspired by the great men of science of her day, she hides herself away in the attic and carries out experiments, hoping that she might discover or invent something that will allow her to live independently.

When an unscrupulous actor takes advantage of Mary's naivety, she responds in the only way she knows how: by burying herself in her work. And then, a chance combination of a bird's corpse, the right chemicals, and a lightning strike find her considering the impossible: she may have just brought the dead back to life.

Mary knows she won't be able to carry out her work alone. And she certainly can't turn to her family for assistance. Happily for her, she has a single truly trustworthy correspondent with whom she can discuss anything - even the principles of reanimation...