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This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein
Kenneth Oppel
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In eighteenth-century Geneva. in the huge rambling Chateau Frankenstein., live Victor and his older brother Konrad, inseparable sixteen-year-old identical twins.

The boys live an idyllic life, enjoying the attentions of their adoptive sister, Elizabeth, and their loving parents. The adventurous teens are tutored at home, spending their time fencing, riding horses, exploring the Chateau's extensive hidden passageways and secret rooms, and
putting on plays written by Victor's friend, Henry.

When Konrad suddenly falls gravely ill, Victor returns to the forbidden Dark Library the boys found on one of their explorations of the Chateau. The secret Biblioteka Obscura holds ancient tomes written in obscure languages filled with forbidden knowledge. In it Victor finds a description of the Elixir of Life, a serum that will give the drinker perpetual health.