Father of Frankenstein

Book excerpt: James Whale was the most brilliant director of horror films Hollywood has ever seen, director of such classics as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (and indeed every horror film rated with four stars in Halliwell's Film Guide). But he was by no means a typical Hollywood product, both because he was English and because he was openly gay in the Hollywood of the 30s. Christopher Bram's moving and powerful novel portrays Whale in his last weeks of life in 1957, overwhelmed by images of his past, his working class childhood in Britain, Hollywood premieres in the 30s, friendships with Elsa Lanchester, Charles Laughton and Elizabeth Taylor. Consumed by the contrast between his past and his present obscurity, he conspires with his young gardener to provide his life with the dramatic ending it deserves.