'Upon her neck and breast was blood, and upon her throat were the marks of teeth having opened the vein: - to this the men pointed, crying, simultaneously struck with horror, "a Vampyre, a Vampyre!"' John Polidori's classic tale of the vampyre was a product of the same ghost-story competition that produced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Set in Italy, Greece, and London, Polidori's tales is a reaction to the dominating presence of his employer Lord Byron, and transformed the figure of the vampire from the bestial ghoul of earlier mythologies into the glamorous aristocrat whose violence and sexual allure make him literally a 'lady-killer'. Polidori's tale introduced the vampire into English fiction, and launched a vampire craze that has never subsided. 'The Vampyre' was first published in 1819 in the London New Monthly Magazine. The present volume selects thirteen other tales of the macabre first published in the leading London and Dublin magazines between 1819 and 1838, including Edward Bulwer's chilling account of the doppelganger, Letitia Landon's elegant reworking of the Gothic romance, William Carleton's terrifying description of an actual lynching, and James Hogg's ghoulish exploitation of the cholera epidemic of 1831-2. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very interesting selection of macabre tales originally published in London and Dublin magazines. There are no stories here from Blackwood's Magazine, these are published in a seperate volume Tales of Terror from "Blackwood's Magazine" (World's Classics). Of the fourteen short stories published here the majority were originally published in New Monthly Magazine, and all the stories were published between 1819-1838.
The collection starts off with John Polidori's The Vampyre, the story that started the vampire rage which still hasn't abated. Some of the tales are in dialect and cover a wide range of themes. Some of the authors you will have heard of, but others seem to have disappeared in the mists of time. From the classic vampire tale you also have an offering from James Hogg (author ofThe Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (Wordsworth Classics)), a tale of the Irish troubles and a lynching in Confessions of a Reformed Ribbonman, as well as the darkly funny Life in Death where a man has a formula to come back after death, but due to a mishap some of the formula is lost. There are stories involving ghosts, and the Resurrection Men (bodysnatchers), as well as others.
This is a real cornocpoia of macbre tales that will offer you lots of enjoyment, but be warned the tale Sir Guy Eveling's Dream is dotted with rather archaic language. If you read such tales then this will be a welcome addition to your collection. In the appendices there are short biogs. of the authors as well as the original fragment by Lord Byron which inspired John Polidori.
The collection starts off with John Polidori's The Vampyre, the story that started the vampire rage which still hasn't abated. Some of the tales are in dialect and cover a wide range of themes. Some of the authors you will have heard of, but others seem to have disappeared in the mists of time. From the classic vampire tale you also have an offering from James Hogg (author ofThe Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (Wordsworth Classics)), a tale of the Irish troubles and a lynching in Confessions of a Reformed Ribbonman, as well as the darkly funny Life in Death where a man has a formula to come back after death, but due to a mishap some of the formula is lost. There are stories involving ghosts, and the Resurrection Men (bodysnatchers), as well as others.
This is a real cornocpoia of macbre tales that will offer you lots of enjoyment, but be warned the tale Sir Guy Eveling's Dream is dotted with rather archaic language. If you read such tales then this will be a welcome addition to your collection. In the appendices there are short biogs. of the authors as well as the original fragment by Lord Byron which inspired John Polidori.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By MintyGoth
Format:Paperback
I didn't have high hopes for The Vampyre, to be honest... therefore I was totally surprised just how much I liked it.
It's long enough to entertain, but short enough to not get boring.
If you're looking for a vampire story that will be read in an evening, and that has a twist at the end that I didn't expect, then The Vampyre is the story for you.
It's long enough to entertain, but short enough to not get boring.
If you're looking for a vampire story that will be read in an evening, and that has a twist at the end that I didn't expect, then The Vampyre is the story for you.
By Harassed 54
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As the first vampire story, Polidori's Lord Ruthven ticks a number of the gothic trope boxes.
It is a short story and should be a must for anyone who is interested in Vampire fiction, the development of the vampire of even Byron. The story lacks the sophistication of later vampire novels but clearly sets the benchmark for those that follow - it even has the archetypal aristocratic vampire.
It is a short story and should be a must for anyone who is interested in Vampire fiction, the development of the vampire of even Byron. The story lacks the sophistication of later vampire novels but clearly sets the benchmark for those that follow - it even has the archetypal aristocratic vampire.
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