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Smarra & Trilby
Charles Nodier (1780-1844) was one of the key figures of the French Romantic movement. In France he was one of the first populariser of the literary vampire story: Smarra, or the Demons of the Night(1821) is the most notable and horrific of his stories.
Nodier also carried forward the French tradition of literary fairy tales, which he enriched with the fantastic extravagance of the romantics. The best of these half fairy and half fantasy tales is Trilby, or the imp of Argyll (1822), which is set in Scotland.
"Nodier's contes are dense, rich, varied in their settings and imbued with supernaturalism. Trilby is set in the Western highlands of Scotland. It is a touching story, as well as being extremely imaginative, and the Scottish background is finely evoked. Smarra is an altogether more brutal story, extravagantly supernatural, with a stong sexual undercurrent."
The Times Literary Supplement
' ... two short novels, finely translated by Judith Landry, from Nodier's prime, sleek and flowing and highly unsafe." John Clute
Nodier also carried forward the French tradition of literary fairy tales, which he enriched with the fantastic extravagance of the romantics. The best of these half fairy and half fantasy tales is Trilby, or the imp of Argyll (1822), which is set in Scotland.
"Nodier's contes are dense, rich, varied in their settings and imbued with supernaturalism. Trilby is set in the Western highlands of Scotland. It is a touching story, as well as being extremely imaginative, and the Scottish background is finely evoked. Smarra is an altogether more brutal story, extravagantly supernatural, with a stong sexual undercurrent."
The Times Literary Supplement
' ... two short novels, finely translated by Judith Landry, from Nodier's prime, sleek and flowing and highly unsafe." John Clute
125 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1822
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About the author
Charles Nodier
865 books36 followersJean Charles Emmanuel Nodier was a French author who introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to the conte fantastique, gothic literature, vampire tales, and the importance of dreams as part of literary creation, and whose career as a librarian is often underestimated by literary historians.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 27, 2017
Rereading, and then on the "more later" stack it goes.
First impressions: oh my god. What a lovely book. The first story, "Smarra," takes the reader into the realm of dreams within dreams within dreams, and Moreau's Jupiter et Sémélé on the cover is beyond appropriate. What dreams they are indeed! Some have seen in this story an early mention of vampirism, which I'll have to give more thought to over the next few days as I give it another read.
On to the second story, "Trilby," which at first I didn't care for as much as "Smarra," only to discover as I went along that "Trilby" is also a fine tale. This one focuses on a woman whose fate is tied to that of a house-elf (and don't think Dobby from Harry Potter -- don't go there at all) because the story hinges on how this woman will come to grasp the true meaning of the phrase "love and charity" as set apart from the meaning bestowed on the people by the clergy. It is an absolutely beautiful story, set in Scotland and one in which landscape plays a huge role.
Another great find from Dedalus.
but more later.
First impressions: oh my god. What a lovely book. The first story, "Smarra," takes the reader into the realm of dreams within dreams within dreams, and Moreau's Jupiter et Sémélé on the cover is beyond appropriate. What dreams they are indeed! Some have seen in this story an early mention of vampirism, which I'll have to give more thought to over the next few days as I give it another read.
On to the second story, "Trilby," which at first I didn't care for as much as "Smarra," only to discover as I went along that "Trilby" is also a fine tale. This one focuses on a woman whose fate is tied to that of a house-elf (and don't think Dobby from Harry Potter -- don't go there at all) because the story hinges on how this woman will come to grasp the true meaning of the phrase "love and charity" as set apart from the meaning bestowed on the people by the clergy. It is an absolutely beautiful story, set in Scotland and one in which landscape plays a huge role.
Another great find from Dedalus.
but more later.
August 24, 2014
Dedalus pairs two works by Charles Nodier, his oft-noted (due to it's vampiric content) novella "Smarra" and another work about elves in Scotland called "Trilby" (no relation to the Trilby/Svengali novel by George Du Maurier). These are beautifully packaged together under a cover sporting a painting by Gustave Moreau, "Jupiter et Semele".
"Smarra: or the Demons of the Night" is an amazing work and justifiably deserves it reputation as a fantastique classic. The story starts with Lorenzo speaking to his love Lidis, talking to her as she sleeps and he settles down to sleep as well. A story starts of a character named Lucius riding in witch-haunted Thessaly, where Lucius settles down and dreams of his friend Poleman, who has died on the battlefield saving his life. Poleman narrates a tale of being bewitched by an evil sorceress/witch/vampire named Myrthe and her bizare familiar, a flying lump of twisted evil named Smarra (a nightmare personified). The witch kills Poleman. Lucius then find himself bedeviled by Myrthe and a sabbath of bizare Bosch-ian imps. As his nightmare becomes more and more convoluted, he is brought by a mob to the town square to be beheaded for the murder of Poleman and Myrthe. He is, in fact decapitated, and his head flies away from the bloodthirsty crowd into the evening sky, the flaps of skin on his neck stump serving as wings. The story ends with Lidis entreating Lorenzo to arise from his nightmare, ending with the all important question "Are you asleep?"
As the introduction says, this story is like a series of trapdoors constantly opening under the reader, unbalancing him and perfectly replicating the bizarre transient and illogical character of dreams, as well as the repetitious and febrile obsessive quality of nightmares. Excellent!
"Trilby, or the Imp of Argyll" is an interesting tale set in Scotland about a much-loved house elf named Trilby who does all those things house spirits/faeries did in olden times (makes sure the fire is out, untangles hair, checks the locks on the cottage, grooms the horses and fills the husband's fishing nets, etc.) Unfortunately, Christianity is afoot and Jeannie, the wife of the home, is convinced by a visiting monk to exorcise the house and drive all of Satan's little helpers from their heathenish abodes. This is done, putting Trilby out in the cold, where he begs his mistress to allow him back inside (he does, truly, love her). I have to admit, I found the end of the story a little hard to follow (Trilby is seemingly an elf and yet somehow tied to a local Laird that shares his name, dead many a year) but it does end sadly and captures the ambivalence that the Scots & Celts must have felt when they were informed that their tolerance of the gentry (who were there first and, while mischievous, were rarely malignant and often helpful) was evidence of backsliding sin under the new theocracy. Interesting.
"Smarra: or the Demons of the Night" is an amazing work and justifiably deserves it reputation as a fantastique classic. The story starts with Lorenzo speaking to his love Lidis, talking to her as she sleeps and he settles down to sleep as well. A story starts of a character named Lucius riding in witch-haunted Thessaly, where Lucius settles down and dreams of his friend Poleman, who has died on the battlefield saving his life. Poleman narrates a tale of being bewitched by an evil sorceress/witch/vampire named Myrthe and her bizare familiar, a flying lump of twisted evil named Smarra (a nightmare personified). The witch kills Poleman. Lucius then find himself bedeviled by Myrthe and a sabbath of bizare Bosch-ian imps. As his nightmare becomes more and more convoluted, he is brought by a mob to the town square to be beheaded for the murder of Poleman and Myrthe. He is, in fact decapitated, and his head flies away from the bloodthirsty crowd into the evening sky, the flaps of skin on his neck stump serving as wings. The story ends with Lidis entreating Lorenzo to arise from his nightmare, ending with the all important question "Are you asleep?"
As the introduction says, this story is like a series of trapdoors constantly opening under the reader, unbalancing him and perfectly replicating the bizarre transient and illogical character of dreams, as well as the repetitious and febrile obsessive quality of nightmares. Excellent!
"Trilby, or the Imp of Argyll" is an interesting tale set in Scotland about a much-loved house elf named Trilby who does all those things house spirits/faeries did in olden times (makes sure the fire is out, untangles hair, checks the locks on the cottage, grooms the horses and fills the husband's fishing nets, etc.) Unfortunately, Christianity is afoot and Jeannie, the wife of the home, is convinced by a visiting monk to exorcise the house and drive all of Satan's little helpers from their heathenish abodes. This is done, putting Trilby out in the cold, where he begs his mistress to allow him back inside (he does, truly, love her). I have to admit, I found the end of the story a little hard to follow (Trilby is seemingly an elf and yet somehow tied to a local Laird that shares his name, dead many a year) but it does end sadly and captures the ambivalence that the Scots & Celts must have felt when they were informed that their tolerance of the gentry (who were there first and, while mischievous, were rarely malignant and often helpful) was evidence of backsliding sin under the new theocracy. Interesting.
September 24, 2011
Despite being a major figure in the Romantic Movement in France Charles Nodier (1780-1844) has remained almost unknown in the English-speaking world, with just two brief tales for children having been translated into English in the 1920s. That was until Daedalus published two English translations of two exceptionally interesting novellas by this author in 1993, under the title “Smarra” and “Trilby”.
Trilby, or the Imp of Argyll, written in 1822, is essentially a fairy tale. Trilby is a household imp. We are told that in Scotland in the distant past (for that is when the story takes place) such creatures were regarded as being mischievous rather than malevolent. Whether they could achieve salvation or whether they were doomed to eternal damnation was seen as an open question. They did some harm, but also quite a lot of good, protecting households against all manner of accidents and against tempests.
Trilby is such a creature. He lives in the cottage of the fisherman Dougal. Trilby is in love with Dougal’s wife Jeannie, the ferrywoman. Jeannie regards this infatuation with amused tolerance but eventually grows uneasy about it. She is unsure if such a passion is strictly in accordance with the Christian faith. She takes advice from the monks at Balvaig and Trilby finds himself cast out of Dougal’s house. If he returns he will endure a thousand years of suffering. But what is a thousand years of suffering compared to the misery of being parted from one’s beloved? And Jeannie begins to think she was wrong in spurning Trilby’s love.
It’s a thoroughly charming little tale with a dreamlike quality to it. If you have a taste for literary fairy tales this story may appeal to you quite a bit.
It was published by Daedalus with the equally interesting but very different Smarra, or the Demons of the Night, which dates from 1821. This is a much more complex story, or rather an interwoven series of stories-within-stories. Is it a dream, or a dream of a dream, and who is doing the dreaming?
It begins with Lorenzo falling asleep beside his beloved, Lisidis. He dreams of a young man named Lucius, a warrior. Lucius is journeying through Thessaly, a country infested with sorceresses. He encounters Polemon, fellow soldier who had saved Lucius’s life. Polemon is trapped in a kind of erotic nightmare woven by a sorceress. The sorceress Meroé has unleashed upon Polemon the demon Smarra, a kind of vampiric demon.
Trying to trace the plot is a futile endeavour as the structure slips and slides between past and present, dream and reality, between one dream and another and possibly even from one dreamer to another.
Where does one dream end and the next begin? And do the creatures of dream stay safely within the world of dream?
This is also a very decadent little tale which suggests that Nodier should be seen as one of the pivotal precursors of the full-blown glories of literary decadence of the later 19th century.
Trilby, or the Imp of Argyll, written in 1822, is essentially a fairy tale. Trilby is a household imp. We are told that in Scotland in the distant past (for that is when the story takes place) such creatures were regarded as being mischievous rather than malevolent. Whether they could achieve salvation or whether they were doomed to eternal damnation was seen as an open question. They did some harm, but also quite a lot of good, protecting households against all manner of accidents and against tempests.
Trilby is such a creature. He lives in the cottage of the fisherman Dougal. Trilby is in love with Dougal’s wife Jeannie, the ferrywoman. Jeannie regards this infatuation with amused tolerance but eventually grows uneasy about it. She is unsure if such a passion is strictly in accordance with the Christian faith. She takes advice from the monks at Balvaig and Trilby finds himself cast out of Dougal’s house. If he returns he will endure a thousand years of suffering. But what is a thousand years of suffering compared to the misery of being parted from one’s beloved? And Jeannie begins to think she was wrong in spurning Trilby’s love.
It’s a thoroughly charming little tale with a dreamlike quality to it. If you have a taste for literary fairy tales this story may appeal to you quite a bit.
It was published by Daedalus with the equally interesting but very different Smarra, or the Demons of the Night, which dates from 1821. This is a much more complex story, or rather an interwoven series of stories-within-stories. Is it a dream, or a dream of a dream, and who is doing the dreaming?
It begins with Lorenzo falling asleep beside his beloved, Lisidis. He dreams of a young man named Lucius, a warrior. Lucius is journeying through Thessaly, a country infested with sorceresses. He encounters Polemon, fellow soldier who had saved Lucius’s life. Polemon is trapped in a kind of erotic nightmare woven by a sorceress. The sorceress Meroé has unleashed upon Polemon the demon Smarra, a kind of vampiric demon.
Trying to trace the plot is a futile endeavour as the structure slips and slides between past and present, dream and reality, between one dream and another and possibly even from one dreamer to another.
Where does one dream end and the next begin? And do the creatures of dream stay safely within the world of dream?
This is also a very decadent little tale which suggests that Nodier should be seen as one of the pivotal precursors of the full-blown glories of literary decadence of the later 19th century.
August 8, 2020
This story collection contains two novellas: Smarra gets two stars, Trilby two and a half. Both were disappointing chores to read. If you are considering taking up Smarra because you heard it was the earliest vampire story, I think you're heading for disappointment. In a dream sequence, some undead creatures with sharpened teeth that like to drink blood are described, but nothing further. There's no real vampire lore or any characterization of vampirism to sink one's teeth into. I had a hard time figuring out the plot of Smarra, but I think it's mostly about a man trying to wake up from bad dreams and finding out he can't. The dreams are recounted vaguely, in terms of plot, but in excruciating detail, in terms of vision, none of which has its significance explained.
The second (and longer) novella is better because the plot is clearer. A Scottish imp at a time when Scotland is becoming Christian falls in love with a young woman named Jeannie who recently married Dougal. The imp takes liberties of a relatively harmless sort (invisible kisses and the like) with Jeannie, who dutifully reports it to her husband. The husband commissions a magic person to banish the imp. Jeannie discovers she missed the imp and begins to plot how she might get him back (by overcoming the terms of the banishment) to have Trilby again become a part of her life.
I appreciate the novella has a plot, but this strength is not enough to overcome the story's weaknesses, which for me were 1) overly long paragraphs of narrative--one went for almost six pages, and 2) a lack of understanding until almost halfway through the story what the stakes for the protagonist were.
The second (and longer) novella is better because the plot is clearer. A Scottish imp at a time when Scotland is becoming Christian falls in love with a young woman named Jeannie who recently married Dougal. The imp takes liberties of a relatively harmless sort (invisible kisses and the like) with Jeannie, who dutifully reports it to her husband. The husband commissions a magic person to banish the imp. Jeannie discovers she missed the imp and begins to plot how she might get him back (by overcoming the terms of the banishment) to have Trilby again become a part of her life.
I appreciate the novella has a plot, but this strength is not enough to overcome the story's weaknesses, which for me were 1) overly long paragraphs of narrative--one went for almost six pages, and 2) a lack of understanding until almost halfway through the story what the stakes for the protagonist were.
December 16, 2022
'Oneiric discontinuity', says John Clute in the introduction.
Meaning, these stories read like more (in 'Smarra') or less (in 'Trilby') disjointed parts of dreams.
'Smarra' is a description of a succession of nightmares with nods to Apuleius, Dante, Shakespeare and other authors. This is definitely not for every reader, as it's difficult to say what exactly is happening, where, and whom to. Some parts of it are barely comprehensible, but the feeling that something horrible is going on, even if you don't quite understand what, is very real! Some parts of it are really creepy. I can't say I enjoyed reading it, but it's certainly memorable.
I enjoyed ''Trilby' much more; it is also very original, and the logic of it is also the logic of a dream, but I guess I found the subject of a fairy lover more enjoyable to read about (in case my husband is reading this, I must clarify: I mean that reading about a mystical romance feels nicer than being plunged into a nightmare). It is somewhat extravagant. Some parts of it are rather obscure, but it also has this lovely atmospheric description of autumn:
'The leaves, buffeted by the chill morning breeze, were beginning to wither at the tips of the bowed branches, and their weird clusters, struck by a brilliant red, or mottled with tawny gold, seemed to bedeck the trees with fresher flowers of brighter fruit than the flowers or fruit they had received from nature. There seemed to be bunches of pomegranates in the birch trees, and ripe clusters of grapes hanging from the pale greenery of the ash, glowing suddenly amidst the delicate routine of their slight foliage.'
(I would have given 'Trilby' four stars if I was rating it on its own).
(Oh, and this is not that Trilby! Quite a different book about quite a different character).
Meaning, these stories read like more (in 'Smarra') or less (in 'Trilby') disjointed parts of dreams.
'Smarra' is a description of a succession of nightmares with nods to Apuleius, Dante, Shakespeare and other authors. This is definitely not for every reader, as it's difficult to say what exactly is happening, where, and whom to. Some parts of it are barely comprehensible, but the feeling that something horrible is going on, even if you don't quite understand what, is very real! Some parts of it are really creepy. I can't say I enjoyed reading it, but it's certainly memorable.
I enjoyed ''Trilby' much more; it is also very original, and the logic of it is also the logic of a dream, but I guess I found the subject of a fairy lover more enjoyable to read about (in case my husband is reading this, I must clarify: I mean that reading about a mystical romance feels nicer than being plunged into a nightmare). It is somewhat extravagant. Some parts of it are rather obscure, but it also has this lovely atmospheric description of autumn:
'The leaves, buffeted by the chill morning breeze, were beginning to wither at the tips of the bowed branches, and their weird clusters, struck by a brilliant red, or mottled with tawny gold, seemed to bedeck the trees with fresher flowers of brighter fruit than the flowers or fruit they had received from nature. There seemed to be bunches of pomegranates in the birch trees, and ripe clusters of grapes hanging from the pale greenery of the ash, glowing suddenly amidst the delicate routine of their slight foliage.'
(I would have given 'Trilby' four stars if I was rating it on its own).
(Oh, and this is not that Trilby! Quite a different book about quite a different character).
June 12, 2019
So i read Smarra quite a while ago but from what i remember its complete nonsense. Just random surrealism stuff, they say there's a vampire in there somewhere but i recall no evidence to that. [2/5]
Trilby on the other hand had a lot of potential, about a sprite who gets exorcised from the cottage he haunts. Its this conflict between the old pagan and new christian ideologies, good stuff. Unfortunately its completely overwritten, Nodier is similar to Théophile Gautier in style. Overwritten, overlong and kinda falls apart at the end. [3/5]
Trilby on the other hand had a lot of potential, about a sprite who gets exorcised from the cottage he haunts. Its this conflict between the old pagan and new christian ideologies, good stuff. Unfortunately its completely overwritten, Nodier is similar to Théophile Gautier in style. Overwritten, overlong and kinda falls apart at the end. [3/5]
November 9, 2017
Two exquisite Romantic prose-poems from Nodier. „Smarra“ is a fever dream put to words, with seemingly as much of internal logic and structure as you may expect. There is much more to it that the procession of striking nightmare-imagery, but one needs enter its rhythm to enjoy it properly. If you manage to do so, it really is akin to experiencing a dream of haunted woods and witches and demons of ancient Thessaly, one that is both terrifying and beautiful. „Trilby“ is more straightforward, something of a ersatz fairy-tale of disenchantment set in twilit Scotland obviously inspired by then widely popular sir Walter Scott. Prose and imagery are just as unbelievably gorgeous as they are in „Smarra“, and this story also posses something of a (more pleasant) dreamlike quality.
July 10, 2018
Le premier récit est un tour de force à mon avis. Trop souvent lorsqu'un écrivain essaie de mêler rêve et réalité, ça fait un peu forcé. Ici, Nodier m'a entraînée, non, plus, comme ensorcelée, et je suis entrée dans une épisode de paralysie du sommeil.
Lorenzo dort et est visité, hanté, par un ami qui est ni mort ni vivant mais mort, oui. Un ami assassiné par une sorcière d'une beauté empirique et son petit deguelasse de démon.
Les muses, la Grèce antique, le vin qui coule, la blessure de son ami, le sentiment d'être pris, de ne plus pouvoir quitter le cauchemar, de be plus pouvoir respirer, ce danger qui escalade...
Et la finale, l'asphyxie...
La douce femme de Lorenzo le rassure à son éveil, lui fait raconter ce trouble du sommeil et Lorenzo, qui est encore sous le choc de la terreur, essaie de lui expliquer l'horreur de sa nuit.
Les derniers mot du récit prononcés par sa femme m'ont glacés le sang et prouve le genie de Nodier...
Ensuite pour Trilby, le deuxième conte, l'histoire de Jeannie qui aime le lutin qui hante sa chaumière dans la campagne écossaise, j'ai beaucoup apprécié le décor, les moeurs, les beaux mots et la tendresse de Trilby, mais ce n'était pas aussi fort que.Smarra.
Lorenzo dort et est visité, hanté, par un ami qui est ni mort ni vivant mais mort, oui. Un ami assassiné par une sorcière d'une beauté empirique et son petit deguelasse de démon.
Les muses, la Grèce antique, le vin qui coule, la blessure de son ami, le sentiment d'être pris, de ne plus pouvoir quitter le cauchemar, de be plus pouvoir respirer, ce danger qui escalade...
Et la finale, l'asphyxie...
La douce femme de Lorenzo le rassure à son éveil, lui fait raconter ce trouble du sommeil et Lorenzo, qui est encore sous le choc de la terreur, essaie de lui expliquer l'horreur de sa nuit.
Les derniers mot du récit prononcés par sa femme m'ont glacés le sang et prouve le genie de Nodier...
Ensuite pour Trilby, le deuxième conte, l'histoire de Jeannie qui aime le lutin qui hante sa chaumière dans la campagne écossaise, j'ai beaucoup apprécié le décor, les moeurs, les beaux mots et la tendresse de Trilby, mais ce n'était pas aussi fort que.Smarra.
January 21, 2023
Riding Phlegon from Thessaly to Larissa through a forest of phantoms Lucius's friend Poleman welcomes him "In another world, I remember...was it not in another world, in a life which was not in thrall to sleep and it's phantoms?..." Why stay in the forest with demons argues Lucius "The demons as you know, fear the odorous vapours of wax and scented oil" Lucius speaks further." Has any threatening movement on the part of one of these images ever revealed to you the presence of those uncanny spirits which sometimes animate them when the last glimmer from the last lamp fades in the air? Their motionless forms, the purity of their features, the serenity of their attitudes, would reassure fear itself. If some strange noise has struck your ear, beloved brother of my heart, it is that of the watchful nymph who spreads the treasures of her crystal urn over your sleep numbed limbs" Marthe's harp can only save them and so the feast begins...
Trilby is an imp of Scotland in love with Jeannie, wife of a fisherman. He makes her life easy in handling the household chores. Jeannie, though cuts off her nose despite her face and wonders when Trilby will return.
Trilby is an imp of Scotland in love with Jeannie, wife of a fisherman. He makes her life easy in handling the household chores. Jeannie, though cuts off her nose despite her face and wonders when Trilby will return.
January 4, 2021
C'était Polémon encore vivant, mais conservé pour une existence si horrible que les larves et les spectres de l'enfer se consolent entre eux en se racontant ses douleurs ; Polémon tombé sous l'emprise des sorcières de Thessalie et des démons qui composent leur cortège dans les solennités, les inexplicables solennités de leurs fêtes nocturnes.
May 11, 2021
Poco chiaro.. Molto grottesco.
April 15, 2022
A two short fantasy novellas by the seldom discussed Charles Nodier
January 19, 2025
ფერიებზე ვეძებდი წიგნს და თურმე აქ ყოფილა
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