First published in 1911, this vintage book contains extracts from the diary of John William Polidori, and chiefly those parts relating to his relationships with Byron, Shelley, and others of the Romantic movement. John William Polidori (7 September 1795 – 24 August 1821) was an English writer and physician famous for his associations with the Romantic movement and for being, as many maintain, the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. His most notable work was the short story "The Vampyre" (1819). This volume will appeal to those with an interest in the life of Polidori and especially those who he associated with, namely Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Other notable works by this author include: “Cajetan” (1816), “Boadicea” (1816), and “On the Punishment of Death” (1816). Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction of the author.
The weather went from being beautiful to tempestuous: torrential thunderstorms plagued the Shelleys, Byron and Polidori. The weather -- along with the company and the eerie ambiance of the locale -- contributed to the genesis of _Frankenstein, _ Polidori's The Vampyre, and, in all likelihood, modern weird fiction. On the night of June 16th, the group read aloud a collection of German ghost stories, _The Fantasmagoriana._ This inspired Byron to challenge the group to write a ghost story. Shelley wrote an forgettable story; Byron wrote a story fragment; and Polidori began the The Vampyre, the first modern vampire tale
In 1816, John William Polidori travelled to Geneva as Lord Byron’s personal physician. There they met Mary Godwin (later Shelley) and her lover Percy Shelley and decided to while away a wet summer by writing ghost stories. The only two to complete their stories were Mary Shelley, who published Frankenstein in 1818, and Polidori, whose The Vampyre and Ernestus Berchtold were both published in 1819. The Vampyre, based on a discarded idea of Byron’s, is the first portrayal of the alluring vampire figure familiar to readers of Bram Stoker and Anne Rice. Ernestus Berchtold scandalously draws on the rumours of Byron’s affair with his half-sister for a Faustian updating of the myth of Oedipus, which it combines with an account of the struggle of Swiss patriots against the Napoleonic invasion. Along with Polidori’s work, this edition also includes stories read and written by the travellers in the Genevan summer of 1816 and contemporary responses to The Vampyre and Ernestus Berchtold.
Not dissimilar to modern day stories, ́The Vampyre ́ offers an interesting mix of fangs and romance, and Polidori's tale of Lord Ruthven is a spooky love story that will leave you hiding under your duvet. The young Aubrey is captivated by the mysterious Lord Ruthven, who takes her to Rome. A disagreement between the two, leads Ruthven to travel onward to Greece on his own where he falls in love with Ianthe. She tells him about the tales and myths of vampires but is found killed shortly after. Without connecting the two incidents, Aubrey reunites with Ruthven once more and she rejoins him on his travels, which leads to her eventual heartbreak. Fans of ́Twilight ́, ́Dracula ́, and ́Buffy the Vampire Slayer ́ will enjoy this short story, which is regarded as the first vampire novel to be published. Known by some as the creator of vampire fiction, John William Polidori was an English writer and physician. ́The Vampyre ́ is his most successful piece of writing and the first published modern vampire story. A friend to Lord Byron, Polidori also brainstormed with Percy Bysshe Shelley and a soon-to-be Mary Shelley. Mary later worked on a tale with her husband which would become 'Frankenstein'. Polidori died at his father's London house aged 25, weighed down by depression and gambling debts.
This classic vampire story has inspired generations of authors, from Bram Stoker to Charlaine Harris. A young English gentleman of means, Aubrey is immediately intrigued by Lord Ruthven, the mysterious newcomer among society’s elite. His unknown origin and curious behavior tantalizes Aubrey’s imagination. But the young man soon discovers a sinister character hidden behind his new friend’s glamorous facade. When the two are set upon by bandits while traveling together in Europe, Ruthven is fatally injured. Before drawing his last breath, he makes the odd request that Aubrey keep his death and crimes secret for a year and a day. But when Ruthven resurfaces in London—making overtures toward Aubrey’s sister—Aubrey realizes this immortal fiend is a vampyre. John William Polidori’s The Vampyre is both a classic tale of gothic horror and the progenitor of the modern romantic vampire myth that has been fodder for artists ranging from Anne Rice to Alan Ball to Francis Ford Coppola. Originally published in 1819, many decades before Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and misattributed to Polidori’s friend Lord Byron, The Vampyre has kept readers up at night for nearly two hundred years. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.
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 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 essay on the death penalty, his poetry and diary. Many of these have not been republished since the nineteenth century. Franklin Charles Bishop's introduction illuminates the context in which The Vampyre was written, This book, first published in 1993, collects Spark's essays on the Brontës, her selection of their letters and of Emily's poetry. Evident throughout are Spark's critical intelligence, dry wit, and refusal to sentimentalise - qualities that gave her own novels their particular appeal. At the same time, The Essence of the Brontës is Muriel Spark's tribute to the sisters whose talents placed them on a stage from where they could hypnotize their own generation and, even more, posterity.
In 1816, John William Polidori travelled to Geneva as Lord Byron’s personal physician. There they met Mary Godwin (later Shelley) and her lover Percy Shelley and decided to while away a wet summer by writing ghost stories. The only two to complete their stories were Mary Shelley, who published Frankenstein in 1818, and Polidori, whose The Vampyre and Ernestus Berchtold were both published in 1819. The Vampyre, based on a discarded idea of Byron’s, is the first portrayal of the alluring vampire figure familiar to readers of Bram Stoker and Anne Rice. Ernestus Berchtold scandalously draws on the rumours of Byron’s affair with his half-sister for a Faustian updating of the myth of Oedipus, which it combines with an account of the struggle of Swiss patriots against the Napoleonic invasion. Along with Polidori’s work, this edition also includes stories read and written by the travellers in the Genevan summer of 1816 and contemporary responses to The Vampyre and Ernestus Berchtold.
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