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Histórias de vampiros
O Vampiro foi escrito por John Polidori em 1816, em «duas ou três manhãs ociosas». A obra só seria publicada em Abril de 1819, erradamente sob o nome de Byron, no New Monthly Magazine. Polidori recebeu apenas trinta libras por uma das histórias de horror mais fascinantes de todos os tempos. O Vampiro foi a primeira tentativa conseguida de aglutinar os elementos até então dispersos de vampirismo num género literário específico. Para isso Polidori conjugou o realismo clínico próprio da sua formação com elementos fantásticos a que desde muito novo se mostrou sensível. Polidori foi, por um curto período, médico e amigo de Byron, com quem rompeu de modo tempestuoso. Fragmento de Uma História fazia originalmente parte de uma história que Byron contou em 1816 como contributo para uma sessão de narrativas de fantasmas. Na versão publicada o autor retirou parte dos aspectos «vampirescos» da narrativa original. Não Acordes os Mortos, conto atribuído a Johann Ludwig Tieck, surgiu pela primeira vez em língua inglesa numa antologia de três volumes intitulada Contos e Romances Populares dos Países Nórdicos (1823). Drácula, de Bram Stoker, publicada em 1897, é a mais famosa de todas as histórias de vampiros, devido à atmosfera de pesadelo do sinistro castelo do Conde Drácula na Transilvânia, às deambulações dos mortos vivos e a uma tensão que gela o sangue. Drácula narra a luta de um grupo de homens e uma mulher para destruir o vampiro, cujos caixões são descobertos por Jonathan Harker numa capela em ruínas. Exercendo sobre as mulheres uma irresistível atracção, Drácula possui uma enorme ambição de poder. Publica-se aqui apenas a parte inicial da narrativa (o texto completo sairá, em breve, nesta editora).
99 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2008
About the author
John William Polidori
353 books179 followersJohn William Polidori was an Italian English physician and writer, known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction.
Polidori was the oldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and Anna Maria Pierce, a governess. He had three brothers and four sisters.
He was one of the earliest pupils at recently established Ampleforth College from 1804, and in 1810 went up to the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote a thesis on sleepwalking and received his degree as a doctor of medicine on 1 August 1815 at the age of 19.
In 1816 Dr. Polidori entered Lord Byron's service as his personal physician, and accompanied Byron on a trip through Europe. At the Villa Diodati, a house Byron rented by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the pair met with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, and her husband-to-be, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their companion (Mary's stepsister) Claire Clairmont.
One night in June, after the company had read aloud from the Tales of the Dead, a collection of horror tales, Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley worked on a tale that would later evolve into Frankenstein. Byron wrote (and quickly abandoned) a fragment of a story, which Polidori used later as the basis for his own tale, The Vampyre, the first vampire story published in English.
Rather than use the crude, bestial vampire of folklore as a basis for his story, Polidori based his character on Byron. Polidori named the character "Lord Ruthven" as a joke. The name was originally used in Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon, in which a thinly-disguised Byron figure was also named Lord Ruthven.
Polidori's Lord Ruthven was not only the first vampire in English fiction, but was also the first fictional vampire in the form we recognize today—an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society.
Dismissed by Byron, Polidori travelled in Italy and then returned to England. His story, "The Vampyre", was published in the April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine without his permission. Whilst in London he lived and died in Great Pulteney Street (Soho). Much to both his and Byron's chagrin, "The Vampyre" was released as a new work by Byron. Byron even released his own Fragment of a Novel in an attempt to clear up the mess, but, for better or worse, "The Vampyre" continued to be attributed to him.
His long, Byron-influenced theological poem The Fall of the Angels, was published anonymously in 1821.
He died in August 1821, weighed down by depression and gambling debts. Despite strong evidence that he committed suicide by means of prussic acid, the coroner gave a verdict of death by natural causes.
His sister Frances Polidori married exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and so John is the uncle of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, though they were born after his death.
His sister Charlotte made a transcription of his Diaries, but censored "peccant passages" and destroyed the original. Based only on the transcripton, The Diary of John Polidori was edited by William Michael Rossetti and first published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews (London). A reprint of this book, The diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, relating to Byron, Shelley, etc was published by Folcroft Library Editions (Folcroft, Pa.) in 1975. Another reprint by the same title was printed by Norwood Editions (Norwood, Pa.) in 1978.
A number of films have depicted John Polidori and the genesis of the Frankenstein and "Vampyre" stories in 1816: Gothic directed by Ken Russell (1986), Haunted Summer directed by Ivan Passer (1988) and Remando al viento (English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez (1988). He also appears as a minor and unsympathetic character in the Tim Powers horror novel The Stress o
Polidori was the oldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and Anna Maria Pierce, a governess. He had three brothers and four sisters.
He was one of the earliest pupils at recently established Ampleforth College from 1804, and in 1810 went up to the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote a thesis on sleepwalking and received his degree as a doctor of medicine on 1 August 1815 at the age of 19.
In 1816 Dr. Polidori entered Lord Byron's service as his personal physician, and accompanied Byron on a trip through Europe. At the Villa Diodati, a house Byron rented by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the pair met with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, and her husband-to-be, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their companion (Mary's stepsister) Claire Clairmont.
One night in June, after the company had read aloud from the Tales of the Dead, a collection of horror tales, Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley worked on a tale that would later evolve into Frankenstein. Byron wrote (and quickly abandoned) a fragment of a story, which Polidori used later as the basis for his own tale, The Vampyre, the first vampire story published in English.
Rather than use the crude, bestial vampire of folklore as a basis for his story, Polidori based his character on Byron. Polidori named the character "Lord Ruthven" as a joke. The name was originally used in Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon, in which a thinly-disguised Byron figure was also named Lord Ruthven.
Polidori's Lord Ruthven was not only the first vampire in English fiction, but was also the first fictional vampire in the form we recognize today—an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society.
Dismissed by Byron, Polidori travelled in Italy and then returned to England. His story, "The Vampyre", was published in the April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine without his permission. Whilst in London he lived and died in Great Pulteney Street (Soho). Much to both his and Byron's chagrin, "The Vampyre" was released as a new work by Byron. Byron even released his own Fragment of a Novel in an attempt to clear up the mess, but, for better or worse, "The Vampyre" continued to be attributed to him.
His long, Byron-influenced theological poem The Fall of the Angels, was published anonymously in 1821.
He died in August 1821, weighed down by depression and gambling debts. Despite strong evidence that he committed suicide by means of prussic acid, the coroner gave a verdict of death by natural causes.
His sister Frances Polidori married exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and so John is the uncle of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, though they were born after his death.
His sister Charlotte made a transcription of his Diaries, but censored "peccant passages" and destroyed the original. Based only on the transcripton, The Diary of John Polidori was edited by William Michael Rossetti and first published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews (London). A reprint of this book, The diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, relating to Byron, Shelley, etc was published by Folcroft Library Editions (Folcroft, Pa.) in 1975. Another reprint by the same title was printed by Norwood Editions (Norwood, Pa.) in 1978.
A number of films have depicted John Polidori and the genesis of the Frankenstein and "Vampyre" stories in 1816: Gothic directed by Ken Russell (1986), Haunted Summer directed by Ivan Passer (1988) and Remando al viento (English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez (1988). He also appears as a minor and unsympathetic character in the Tim Powers horror novel The Stress o
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 30, 2023
A pretensão de reunir nesta colectânea (as primeiras) histórias de vampiros na literatura, levou-me a criar altas expectativas, que foram defraudadas pelas escolhas dos 3 contos aqui apresentados: o conto do Lorde Byron é uma cópia resumidíssima da história de Polidori, ou então este elaborou melhor a história de Byron. O conto “Não acordes os mortos” de Johann Ludwig Tieck é o único que salva este conjunto de histórias.
E terminar esta colectânea com um excerto do "Drácula", pareceu-me uma forma um pouco forçada de encher páginas, para não dizer chouriços, principalmente quando sabemos que Bram Stoker tem outros contos sobre vampiros.
E terminar esta colectânea com um excerto do "Drácula", pareceu-me uma forma um pouco forçada de encher páginas, para não dizer chouriços, principalmente quando sabemos que Bram Stoker tem outros contos sobre vampiros.
October 3, 2024
Esta colectânea de contos não é a melhor, com uma selecção um pouco aquém das minhas expectativas. Dois dos contos eram explorações do mesmo tema, e outro dos quatro era simplesmente um excerto de "Drácula", que eu saltei. O que salva o livro de uma classificação mais baixa é o meu interesse em histórias do género, que supera a falta de qualidade. Só recomendaria a fãs do género, e mesmo esses poderiam arranjar melhor, suspeito.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews