Once a Monster

By: Robert Dinsdale

Narrated by: Justin Avoth

Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

London, 1861: Ten-year-old Nell belongs to a crew of mudlarks who work a stretch of the Thames along the Ratcliffe Highway. An orphan since her mother died four years past, leaving Nell with only broken dreams and a pair of satin slippers in her possession, she spends her days dredging up coals, copper and pieces of iron spilled by the river barges – searching for treasure in the mud in order to appease her master, Benjamin Murdstone.

But one day, Nell discovers a body on the shore. It’s not the first corpse she’s encountered, but by far the strangest. Nearly seven feet tall, the creature has matted hair covering his legs, and on his head are the suggestion of horns. Nell’s fellow mudlarks urge her to steal his boots and rifle his pockets, but as she ventures closer the figure draws breath – and Nell is forced to make a decision which will change her life forever . . .

From the critically acclaimed author of The Toymakers comes an imaginative retelling of the legend of the Minotaur, full of myth and magic and steeped in the grime of Victorian London; perfect for lovers of historical fiction with a mythical twist such as Stone Blind and Circe.

©2023 Robert Dinsdale (P)2023 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Critic reviews

What if the Minotaur survived, and followed Ariadne’s string out of the twisting darkness of the labyrinth? From this thread, Dinsdale spins an engaging yarn about dreams, second chances, and monsters both ordinary and supernatural. The story flows as smoothly as the waters of the Thames, and is just as dark and deep. Of note is Dinsdale’s ability to turn a phrase, shimmering like fine crystal held to the light. A dazzling and heartfelt book. (Luna McNamara, author of Psyche and Eros)

A wonderful magic trick of a story, full of very human monsters and monstrous humans. Dinsdale is a beautiful, evocative story teller. (Stuart Turton, bestselling author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle)

Like the magic at the heart of the story, this vivid, haunting novel is both vast and intimate. A wonderful and thought-provoking read. (Katherine Arden, author of The Winternight Series)

Need a time machine

I wish I could go back in time. not so I could meet the characters or see the beast for myself, but to stop myself from reading this monstrosity of a book. Little girls shouldn't be running around with beast like people, unhappy women should file for divorce, mudstone should stop being such a pedophile pervert, and the author should hang his hat. I want a refund and my time back. that was terrible! minotaur teaching a girl ballet!? very mythical and minotaur like

The power of “No”

This book and its narration is a work of art. I often start a new book immediately after finishing the previous one, and I tried to after listening to Once A Monster but had to stop. It was too jarring. I needed time to ease back into the real world.

At its heart, this is a story about the power of “No”. The characters all struggle to be who or what they want to be despite what society, family, or even their own self-doubts say they are. When they learn to say “No, I will not be subjugated just to avoid upsetting you,” or “No, I will not return violence with violence because I do not want to be a monster any more,” they move closer to being free.

There are moments of heartbreak in this book as well as moments of profound grace, and they are told with excellent prose and excellent narration.

I think my only complaint is that some of the transitions from one character’s viewpoint to another’s happened so smoothly, with not even a slight pause, that I was often confused for a few moments until I realized that we had switched to another character. This seemed to happen most in the second half of the book.

Ultimately this story had a happy ending, but it was the kind of happy ending that nearly had me in tears.

This is not a “popcorn flick” kind of book. It has things to say about the nature of men and the nature of monsters. It’s magical and lyrical and will stick to your ribs, so to speak. I haven’t been this impressed with a book in a long time.