Father of Frankenstein is a 1995 novel by Christopher Bram that speculates on the last days of the life of film director James Whale.

[1] Whale directed such groundbreaking works as the 1931 Frankenstein and 1933's The Invisible Man and was a pioneer in the horror film genre.

In 1998, Ian McKellen played Whale in the film adaptation of Bram's book, titled Gods and Monsters.

Increasingly confused and disoriented, his mind is overwhelmed by images of the past – from his working-class childhood in Britain, the trenches of World War I, and the lavish glamour of Hollywood premieres in the 1930s.

Boone is uncomfortable with Whale's homosexuality but also fascinated by the chance to know a famous Hollywood director and so, despite his apprehensions, the relationship continues.