Children of the Night

by Tony Thorne

A century after Bram Stoker made the Vampire one of the most potent images in all literature, the cult of the undead is as alive as ever. Not only on celluloid and in the pages of fiction, but in the S&M clubs of New York City, in Midwest high schools and English pubs, across the forests of Puerto Rico and the jungles of Malaysia, the creature walks among us. In Children of the Night Tony Thorne provides the ultimate account of the history, meaning, and resonance of the Vampire, drawing on explorations in Eastern Europe, new theories of the origin of the Vampire and exclusive interviews with contemporary living Vampires, the very latest incarnations of a phenomenon which simply will not die.

Genres: History, Vampires, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Note: There are more than one Tony Thorne on GR’s database.

Tony Thorne (born 1950) is a British author, linguist and lexicographer specialising in slang, jargon and cultural history.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Thorne

Reviews

[Yasmin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book better. Indeed before there was at least two chapters dedicated to "real vampires" and the cruel and not in the least accurate critique of Bela Lugosi's Dracula and his other roles I found my enjoyment waning and then becoming nonexistent. It is also rather absurd to claim that Bram Stoker was a kindly gentleman and completely unaware of his overt yet subtle sexual references. Indeed to think any Victorian adult or even adolescent were "innocent" of these things is ridiculous and makes for very poor research. In the 20th century and 21st centuries we may think our sexual and sensual spheres is more advanced and acknowledged, however, this is the period that thought The Picture of Dorian Gray was sexually degenerate in every place within the novel! I also find it odd that the author didn't mention Francis Ford Coppolla's Bram Stoker's Dracula which was made in 1992. I also find it actually disturbing and insulting that "some women" see Dracula as a father figure and they would engage in some kind of fantasy incest! I think Tony Thorne should have spent less time and effort on so-called "Real vampires" and focused on actual work and research and leave his personal vampire fantasies to his mind or diary.