The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club
#5803.89 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2017–2019 Reading commitment Medium Theodora Goss Last reviewed 2026-09-05
Overview
The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club is a completed trilogy reimagining the daughters and creations of classic Gothic mad-scientist literature, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Moreau, Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Rappaccini, as a band of women investigating a conspiracy across Victorian London and Europe. Theodora Goss's Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein and Beatrice Rappaccini form an unlikely household and detective partnership, frequently crossing paths with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as their combined, individually monstrous origins make them uniquely equipped to unravel a conspiracy the era's more conventional investigators cannot see. The opening novel, The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, won the 2018 Locus Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novel. All three books, closing with The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl in 2019, were traditionally published in print from the start (Saga Press), with no web-serialization origin.
Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club Theodora Goss
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter | 2017 | 1 | core | 3.82 (29,753 ratings) |
 | European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman | 2018 | 2 | core | 4.00 (10,380 ratings) |
 | The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl | 2019 | 3 | core | 4.04 (6,556 ratings) |
Completed trilogy, published by Saga Press.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club? The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club? Publication order, starting with The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club finished? Complete (2017–2019).
- How much reading does The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,570 pages).
- How is The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club ranked? #580 in this site's official ranking, based on 46,689 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #580?
Ranked #580 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.89 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (46,689 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #579, The Sharing Knife (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 3 books · Complete · 47k ratings · Ranks #580 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (2017)
- European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman (2018)
- The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl (2019)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2018: won: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2017: nominated: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.89 across 46,689 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club (Theodora Goss) accepted 2026-09-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Tier 3
- Theodora Goss, official author site (Novels page) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05
Rule: Core Canon = all three novels of the completed trilogy.