Black Oxen
In 1923 New York, the aging and wealthy Mary Ogden undergoes an experimental rejuvenation treatment that restores her youth — but at a terrible cost. Re-emerging as the mysterious Madame Zattiany, she becomes entangled with Lee Clavering, a young playwright who falls for her without knowing what she has become. As old secrets resurface and the true nature of her transformation is revealed, the novel blends romance with unsettling speculative elements about science's ability to reverse time.
A wealthy woman who undergoes a controversial rejuvenation treatment and returns to New York as the youthful Madame Zattiany, pursued by her past and present suitors.
Black Oxen functions as a standalone novel, presenting a complete narrative arc without requiring readers to engage with other works by Gertrude Atherton to understand its plot or characters.
Black Oxen was adapted into a silent film in 1923, released the same year as the novel. The film stars Corinne Griffith as Madame Zattiany.
Gertrude Atherton was inspired to write Black Oxen by the then-novel concept of rejuvenation treatments, particularly the work of Dr. Serge Voronoff, which was a subject of public fascination in the early 20th century.