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The Vampyre (Hardcover)
John William Polidori
bundle available
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R492
Discovery Miles 4 920
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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The Vampyre (Paperback)
John William Polidori; Contributions by Mint Editions
bundle available
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R120
R99
Discovery Miles 990
Save R21 (18%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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When Aubrey, a young Englishman, meets a mysterious man from London
high society, Lord Ruthven, they become unlikely friends. Shortly
after, Aubrey decides to accompany the noble on a trip to Rome.
However, when a moral disagreement arises between the two, Aubrey
decides to leave Ruthven in Rome, and goes off on his own. Arriving
in Greece, Aubrey meets Ianthe, and the two share an immediate
connection. After sharing stories and an evening together, Aubrey
and Ianthe part ways for the night. However, after a devastating
turn of events, Aubrey and Ruthven reunite, and Aubrey, ready to
leave Greece behind, is happy to travel with the older man once
again. But as they continue their travels, Aubrey slowly begins to
notice Ruthven's odd behavior. After even more consideration,
Aubrey realizes a shocking pattern-nearly everyone that Ruthven
comes in close contact to meets an untimely end. Afraid of his
newly acquired knowledge, Aubrey attempts to distance himself from
the suspicious man, though he is forced to reconsider his efforts
when Ruthven expresses intent to marry Aubrey's sister. First
published under Lord Byron's name, The Vampyre rose to immediate
commercial success. However, though he was inspired by a discarded
piece of Lord Bryon's work, both authors have since admitted that
John William Polidori was the true writer of The Vampyre.
Considered to be the first work of vampire fiction, The Vampyre had
an immense role in shaping vampires as literary figures,
influencing the canonical rules of vampires that many still follow
today. First published in 1819, Polidori's The Vampyre remains to
be a thrilling and spooky read centuries later, and has since
inspired both film and theater adaptations. With mystery and eerie
suspense, Polidori's work is an extraordinary example of 19th
century gothic horror. This edition of The Vampyre by John William
Polidori features a striking new cover design and is printed in a
font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations,
The Vampyre caters to a contemporary audience while preserving the
original innovation of John William Polidori's work.
John William Polidori (1795 1821) was, for a brief period, the
personal physician to Lord Byron. Half Italian, he was the uncle of
the Rossetti siblings, and it was William Michael Rossetti, in his
role as family recorder, who published Polidori's manuscript diary
after nearly a century, in 1911. This account of his time with
Byron (which ended two months later when they quarrelled and parted
company) is the only contemporary account of the few weeks, crucial
to the development of the Romantic movement, during which Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein arose from a storytelling competition at the
Villa Diodati. Polidori's later career as a physician and writer
was hampered by a severe accident in 1817 which left him with brain
damage. His most famous work, The Vampyre, was published in 1819,
but attributed to Byron, leading both men to threaten the publisher
with lawsuits. Polidori died (probably a suicide) two years later."
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger
Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain
imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed
pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we
have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting,
preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger
Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and
hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!
'June 18. Began my ghost story after tea. Twelve o' clock, really
began to talk ghostly. [Lord Byron] repeated some verses of
Coleridge's Christabel, of the witch's breast; when silence ensued,
and Shelley, suddenly shrieking and putting his hands to his head,
ran out of the room with a candle.' (from the Diary of Dr John
William Polidori, 1816). So John William Polidori (1795-1821)
records one of the most famous storytelling evenings in English
literature, the stormy night at the Villa Diodati that was the
source of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and his own tale "The
Vampyre", as well as his Gothic novel "Ernestus Berchtold".
Polidori's still compelling works, included here in full, created
figures of seductive evil that continue to exert a powerful hold
over literature and popular culture. In addition, this collection
makes available some of Polidori's fascinating lesser-known works
such as his medical thesis on nightmares, his pamphlet on the death
penalty, his poetry and diary. Many of these have not been
republished since the nineteenth century. Now Polidori emerges from
the shadows, an impetuous, sensitive writer with a sometimes fierce
talent.His encounters with Byron, Shelley and their circle
contributed to his fame and notoriety, and to his neglect, since
they outshone him. Here he can be read by his own mysterious taper.
Franklin Bishop's introduction describes the context in which The
Vampyre was written and deepens our understanding of Romanticism
and the Gothic.
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