Take a Bite [Paperback]

By far and to-date in my opinion, a most superior examination of the female vampire, by Miss Schumann. `Take a Bite' is a non-fictional book that delves into history, including the ancient world and the origins of the vampire myth, notably and in depth, the worlds of Lilith, Lamia, and telling of Kali in her different aspects. We are shown in folklore, what makes a vampire and the differences of the female and male malefactor. Explored also, are the fears and ailments of the times in which tales of the vampire in Europe greatly manifested themselves, the customs and `cures' and the rationale that would explain them.
A great feature of the book, I found, is the female vampire in fiction. She is discussed thoroughly, showing how and why she has been portrayed in her various roles in literature; from the dominated vampiress through to the modern independent type. Detailed voice is given to the lifestyles and prejudices that prevailed in Anglo-American life at the times of writing. For the longest period most male authors, reflecting a woman's expected social and sexual behaviour; as prospective good wife and mother in a patriarchal society, through her mirror image the demonised, wanton femme fatale, destroyer of men and threat to the social order.
`Take a Bite' is a book that bridges two worlds. It is a wonderful read for the vampire aficionado, regardless of whether the reader is male or female: and will be received I am sure, as being a fresh and enlightening look at the female vampire. I am also of the opinion that `Take a Bite' has its place in the academic world, whether for its historical and folkloric content alone, or as a reference book that may indeed become required reading on such courses that involve gender studies.

TAKE A BITE is that rare combination, a serious scholarly examination and simultaneously playful deconstructing of a complicated subject, female vampires from their mythological origins right up to the present-day interest in the supermodel-succubus archetype of the TWILIGHT sagas and of course BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, a TV and cinema obsession showing no sign of exhaustion.

Nancy Schumann has methodically researched and studied the occurrence of the lamia, succubi and other diverse female demons that occur in all religious and mythological traditions. From Lilith the actual first woman and equal of Adam written out of the Old Testament (but still in Hebrew scriptures) all the way up to the immortal lesbian Karmilla created by Sheridn LeFanu in the late nineteenth century, Schumann takes us on a fascinating parallel journey through myth-history and male fear of dominant female sexuality. One of the things that comes through most strongly in the book is how full of fear mythology (and our own culture) is with respect to female power and dominance.

The Gorgons, the nine Muses, death goddess Kali, the Great Goddess herself and the many divine (and devilish) incarnations of these beings through Western, Eastern and Oriental myth traditions are quite a wide subject and the author does it very entertainingly. All these dangerous women come out of very specific cultural traditions and widely differing civilisations from ancient Egypt and Sumeria all the way up to the contemporary age, supposedly secularised Western fictional treatments, but what most strongly comes across is how actually little male paranoia of the strong female presence has changed. The dangerous predatory woman, free of social constraints, is just as potent a figure now as thousands of years past.

Even film noir gets a mention - the dangerous 'vamp' of such immortal movies as THE KILLERS and DOUBLE INDEMNITY has the same role in the modern age as notorious sorceress-queen Circe in Homer's 'Odyssey'. The prevalence of witch-fear in the middle ages and Reformation periods of history also feed strongly into the modern portrayal of the female vampire and noir vamp, closely linking them to the shape-shifter kind of demonic female spirit that occurs across all myth traditions. Nancy Schumann goes into some thoughtful detail on this and it adds a lot of depth to the book. It's intelligent and fun and rather scary.

With a variety of well chosen haunting photo illustrations and a superb cover TAKE A BITE is a first class tome on the vampiress and her continuing role in our society, one just as sexually paranoid and confused, it seems, as the older societies it draws much of its source material from.

I'm just waiting for her to get onto the seething subculture of transgenders and pre-ops...

Vampires: marginalised, blood-sucking, sexy ... it's hard to avoid these glamorous, dangerous creatures as they hold sway over the Western imagination. But, as the Twilight generation eagerly flocks to the cinema to watch film after film, do we really understand how and why these mythical creatures have come to dominate popular culture? And, more importantly, how do women feature in this phenomenon - in our so called `modern' society does an empowered vampire queen exist, or are we all just lusting after Edward?
In this innovative analysis of folklore and Anglo-American literature, Nancy Schumann explores the representation of vampires and vampiresses from the Romantic era through to the Post-Modern. Tracing the development of blood-sucking figures from their origin through to Le Fanu's Carmilla and Bram Stoker's Dracula, before concluding with the Twilight and True Blood sagas, Take a Bite is a thorough and engaging analysis that puts women centre stage. Looking at both popular and less well-known texts, this engaging study tells the untold stories of vampiresses for the first time.
Whilst this text will have particular appeal to those approaching the topic from an academic angle, her extensive research and succinct style ensures it's suitable for anyone with an interest in vampires. With its particular focus on women, Take a Bite emerges as a subtle and carefully constructed piece of feminist literature that engages with many issues still relevant in the 21st century.
The book also features images by renowned artist Emma Tooth and fantastic photographs by Martin Small and Grant Mitchell.