Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula

by Christopher Frayling (Editor, Translator, Introduction)

Vampire literature is an amazingly varied genre of writing, providing elements of everything from the penny dreadful horrors to powerful doses of myth and eroticism. Because it contains its own mythology and its own set of rules, it has also proved a psychologically attractive genre for many writers from its Romantic inception to the present day.

Genres: Vampires, Nonfiction, Horror, Gothic, Anthologies, Research, Supernatural

429 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1978

Reviews

[Mizuki]

My thoughts during the reading progress:

It's a collection of Victorian vampire novella, which takes me forever to read from one story to another because those old Victorian English, the wording and narration are so difficult to swallow.

But I did found my favorite quote:

Sexual desire is only the frustrated desire to eat human flesh.

Lovely.

In the context of vampire literature, this quote makes perfect sense.

[Aric Cushing]

A classic in vampire research. Accounts of Arnold Paole, real texts during vampire epidemics, and the true beginning of what we now take for granted today.

[Lynsey Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is proof that no matter how much you think you know about a subject you can always learn something new.

Vampires are my specialist subject, they would be my topic on Mastermind, where I would deffo get 10/10 (or whatever their scoring system is, forgive me I do not watch TV). So when I saw this wonderfully front covered book in a lovely, crooked bookshop I thought “hold on a second, this looks like an interesting take on the old blood suckers” so I handed over my monies.

And for the most part I was impressed. There was a lot of knowledge held within about literary Vampires, and the brains/times/folk law/aesthetic behind them that I did not know and devoured with the fervour of one that requires knowledge to survive.

However, this book (like our good friend Frankenstein’s Monster) is a book of multiple parts, and as I found some of them interesting and some of them utterly ridiculous, I am going to review each part separately. So please do follow me into the interesting world of literary Vampires. This is not how the actual book is split (there are sub chapters within chapters) this is just how I’ve chosen to do it.

Section 1 – The Literary Vampire

Not to be confused with the folk law Vampire, although that is where the basis for this undead nobleperson comes from. This section was my favourite of the book and went into, the sometimes exhaustive, history of the Vampire in literature, from their beginnings in poetry to the first great Vampire story The Vamprye by Mr Polidori. Which of course was wrongly attributed to the great vampy character himself, Lord Byron.

The research Mr Frayling must have put into this section is staggering. To have worked out the background history (not just of the authors but of the social and political climates of the time) for stories sometimes nearly 200 years old is amazing. And how he pieced together how one influenced the other, as well as the Vampire pandemic myths that formed the basis for many of the stories is remarkable. This man is a true scholar. The only downside to this section is that is did get a bit heavy with detail and a bit text-booky, even for me who loves this kind of stuff. So, you do need to give it your full attention. There is even a table of stories that breaks down the way to kill its Vampire and its preferred victim. Awesome.

Section 2 – Actual Vampire stories from the 1800’s
A lovely selection of stories, most I had already read but a couple of gems that where new to me. Splendid.

Section 3 – Bram Stokers working notes for Dracula
A (mainly) interesting chronological history of pretty much each change Mr Stoker made to Dracula as he went along to the final book. There are also the books he used as reference which are interesting in their own right, a train timetable so he could make sure he was using actual train times, and a list of books actually held in the Stoker library.

Section 4 – Haemosexuality
Three papers that talk utter tripe about Freud’s belief that everyone wants to fuck their parents and how this somehow relates to Vampires. I feel the fucked-up mentality might lie with you Mr. Freud and not us. Bullshit.

A nice little addition to any Vampire lover’s bookshelf.

[Barbara Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I would love this - since I've always loved the idea of vampire stories, but I found it a little too rich. Nothing wrong with individual parts, but a little like overdosing on the chocolate cake. It made me feel that it had to be a good while before I read anything else about the blood, guts and horror of these tales.

[P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This helped make up a large part of my thesis when studying the Romantics/ Gothic. Excellent stuff. Wish I had a copy... Prof. Williams, wherever you are, thank you many times over for lending it to me, and having many a wonderful discussion on the intricate wonders of the genre.

Such good memories.

#2007 #UniversityofGreenwich4eva #studentdays

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meant for an audience of literary critics. Not meant for casual readers.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dracula came in a long tradition on vampires. In this vampire mosaic we hear about vampires in folklore, prose and poetry from 1687 to 1913, the archetypal vampires, John Polidori's Vampyre, Varney, Tieck's Wake not the Dead, E.T.A. Hoffmann's Aurelia, a creature of folklore, female Gothic, the genesis of Dracula, Stoker's working and research papers, Dracula's Guest, psychopathia sexualis and even a psychoanalysis on Dracula. You'll also find some great illustrations inside. The book was very well done, at parts a bit scientific though and gives you fantastic insides into vampires in literature. Highly recommended!

[Fyodor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gifted this book by my teacher after stating that I like vampire books (notably Anne Rice's 'The Vampire Chronicles'.) I don't usually read books like this and I found large parts of it honetyl very boring. However, reading the snippets of other books was very helpful to see what I might consider reading next. The stuff about Freud was... not something I feel the need to comment on.

[Kianna McNabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely dense read, riveting and shocking at points. Very inclusive about vampiric myth and folklore, with a geniality that invites you in. Frayling’s voice and attitude shines through amongst the studious writing.

[Robert Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are probably times when you can have too much of a good thing. My thirst for vampires had been truly quenched by the time I reached the end.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skim read- there's a lot in here that's not terribly interesting or easy to read. However some of the stories in the anthology are splendid.

[Heather Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think my obsession with dark romance and terrible men started with Byron and Shelley. These men had so many red flags with their obvious mental health issues, god complexes, and disgusting, privileged lives that it looked like a circus tent—and yet, they knew the magic of words that would make women follow them like the Pied Piper. I’ve read many books on vampires (because, let’s face it, we meet them all the time) and on the Romantics, and while I feel there are some better books on the latter, I appreciated the blend here and learning more about Polidore.

[Louise Carlson Stowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good beginning who's who primer of vampires, but not as good as Melton Gordon's Encyclopedia. It is a much small and concise version of what is offered the in the bigger "Encyclopedia of Vampirism." It's still a great read! Definitely worth having on the shelf along with the others.

[Lotta]

EI praktikumkirja. Ha.