Reviews
4.6 out of five stars on Amazon!
The Face of a Monster: America’s Frankenstein by Patricia Earnest Suter
Multi-volume author, Patricia Earnest Suter introduces us to her book about a real monster in America:The year 2018 will herald the 200th anniversary of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The timing seems right for the story of a real monster. German-born immigrant Anton Probst arrived in New York in 1863. Within two hours of his arrival he enlisted in the Union Army. During the American Civil War, Probst bore witness to mankind's brutality. Afterwards, he became an inmate at the disreputable Blockley Almshouse in Philadelphia.
5 out of five stars on Readers' Favorite!
The Face of a Monster: America’s Frankenstein by Patricia Earnest Suter
Reviewed by Tracy Young for Readers' Favorite
Anton Probst was a German immigrant who traveled to America to find a better life. Along with many others, he began his new life as a soldier and spent three years fighting in the Civil War. Once the conflict was over, he was embroiled in the underbelly of this relatively new country and became one more statistic fighting to survive. The Dearing family gave him a taste of normality and offered him gainful employment and a place to call home. How did Anton Probst repay them? In the most heinous way possible. Fifty years earlier, Mary Shelley had created a fictional monster that is still an iconic figure in literature, but how does Frankenstein’s monster bear any resemblance to Probst? Patricia Earnest Suter tells us how in The Face of a Monster: America's Frankenstein.
This is a superbly researched book that not only explores the history of Probst and the circumstances that lead him to commit such a violent crime, but also the background of Mary Shelley and her fictional monster. Loss and death played a major part in Mary’s life and Patricia Earnest Suter explains how that led to the monster's character. Probst is a monster that shocked Philadelphia, yet it is his name that is remembered rather than the victims' names. Does that mean society is more interested in the horrors of the human mind? There is a wealth of information in this book and the author writes with passion. The Face of a Monster: America's Frankenstein is a fascinating read and incredibly informative.
5 out of five stars on
My American Almost Royal Cousin Series
The Face of a Monster: America’s Frankenstein by Patricia Earnest Suter
Reviewed by Veronica Cline Barton for My American Almost Royal Cousin Series
What drives a person to become a monster? A psychological question that has been studied and analyzed for centuries. Author Suter does a masterful job of delving into the history of one of the early mass murderer’s in American history, detailing the story of Anton Probst, a German immigrant who brutally slaughters an entire family. She innovatively compares and contrasts his story and environment with the life and writings of Mary Shelley on the 200th anniversary of her classic tale Frankenstein (The Modern Prometheus), a monster physically created, that ultimately turns evil due to the environmental influences of its surroundings and lack of empathy and care by its creator and others around it.
Reccomendations
Recommended by Abigail Ruth Pearson for The Wayfarer's Journey Book Series
Author of The Face of a Monster - America's Frankenstein
The year 2018 will herald the 200th anniversary of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The timing seems right for the story of a real monster. German-born immigrant Anton Probst arrived in New York in 1863. Within two hours of his arrival, he enlisted in the Union Army. During the American Civil War, Probst bore witness to mankind's brutality. Afterwards, he became an inmate at the disreputable Blockley Almshouse in Philadelphia.
Frankenstein was first conceived by Shelley in 1816. Her monster was an embodiment of abandonment and loneliness, feelings Shelley shared. In despair, the creature resorted to violence. Fifty years after Frankenstein's conception, Anton Probst adopted characteristics of Shelley's monstrous creation. He became Philadelphia's first mass-murderer when he slaughtered members of the Christopher Dearing family.
After his death, Probst's story continued. The creature that he had become left a deep impression on the people of Philadelphia and New York. Researchers used Anton Probst's body to show the effects of galvanization, the same means by which Frankenstein's monster stirred to life. Incredibly, similarities surface between Shelley and her circle, her monster, and the events that transpired when the blood of innocents was shed an ocean away. One defining difference is present. Unlike Shelley's creature, the story of America's monster is very real.
Available to buy on Amazon.
Articles
Author of The Face of a Monster: America’s Frankenstein
Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?
I was born in Denver, Colorado but if I’d been on time, I would have been born in Kingman, Arizona. I now live in Delaware, which has a piece of my heart but it has to share with New Mexico.
If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?
Dad was with the Department of the Interior. We moved a lot when I was young. Moving was such an important part of my life that I even married a member of the USAF. The transfers continued until Tom decided to retire. Although Delaware has been good to us, I still suffer wanderlust.
New Release
Jasper52.com
Fraktur: Americana with a German Accent
Fraktur (pronounced frahk-toor), in the simplest terms, is a distinctive letter style with origins in 16th-century Europe.
However, upon viewing examples of fraktur created by Pennsylvania Germans in the 18th and 19th centuries, “simple” is hardly fitting.
To better understand fraktur, which is seen by many as both a resplendent form of folk art and a remarkable record of many German-American colonial families, we turned to Patricia Earnest, owner of Earnest Archives and Library – a private library devoted to researching Pennsylvania German genealogy recorded in the form of fraktur.
Interviews
Papers for Birth Dayes: Guide to the Fraktur Artists and Scriveners is now available
The monumental third edition of Papers for Birth Dayes: Guide to the Fraktur Artists and Scriveners is now available. This is the culmination of 45 years of study by Corinne P. Earnest, the “Queen of Fraktur.” This edition consists of four hardcover volumes totaling over 1,500 pages, discussing and illustrating in color the work of 579 fraktur artists and scriveners. Included is a discussion of the life history of each frakurist (if known) and characteristics of their art and lettering. New to this edition is a summary number of fraktur attributed to each frakturist. Because of the huge size of the data base, only up to ten examples are listed for each artist or scrivener with priority given to examples illustrated in readily available sources.