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by John William Polidori

John_William_Polidori Genre_Fiction English
  • ISBN: 1440421277
  • Category: Fiction
  • Author: John William Polidori
  • Subcategory: Genre Fiction
  • Other formats: txt mbr rtf mobi
  • Language: English
  • Publisher: CreateSpace (January 9, 2010)
  • Pages: 56 pages
  • FB2 size: 1324 kb
  • EPUB size: 1356 kb
  • Rating: 4.2
  • Votes: 117
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John William Polidori (7 September 1795 – 24 August 1821) was an English writer and physician.

John William Polidori (7 September 1795 – 24 August 1821) was an English writer and physician. His most successful work was the short story "The Vampyre" (1819), the first published modern vampire story.

of the vampire from a creature of folklore to an aristocratic fiend preying on society.

The Vampyre is a short story written by John William Polidori and first published in 1819  . The work quickly became a popular success, exploiting the public's penchant for gothic horror and transforming the mythology of the vampire from a creature of folklore to an aristocratic fiend preying on society.

Book Description: The Vampyre - is a short story written by John William Polidori and is a progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction. Book Description: "The Vampyre - is a short story written by John William Polidori and is a progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction. The Vampyre" was first published on April 1, 1819, by Colburn in the New Monthly Magazine with the false attribution "A Tale by Lord Byron.

By John William Polidori. Printed for sherwood, neely, and jones. Paternoster row. 1819

By John William Polidori. 1819. Gillet, Printer, Crown Court, Fleet Street, London.

John William Polidori, Franklin Bishop. June 18. Began my ghost story after tea. Twelve o' clock, really began to talk ghostly. 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).

men pointed, crying, simultaneously struck with horror, " A Vampyre! a Vampyre!" A litter was quickly formed, and Aubrey was laid by the side of her who had lately been to him the object of so many bright and fairy visions, now fallen with the flower of life that had died within her.

IT happened that in the midst of the dissipations attendant upon a London winter, there appeared at the various parties of the leaders of the ton a nobleman, more remarkable for his singularities, than his rank. He gazed upon the mirth around him, as if he could not participate therein. men pointed, crying, simultaneously struck with horror, " A Vampyre! a Vampyre!" A litter was quickly formed, and Aubrey was laid by the side of her who had lately been to him the object of so many bright and fairy visions, now fallen with the flower of life that had died within her.

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

John William Polidori's The Vampyre is both a classic tale of gothic horror .

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.

The charismatic and sophisticated vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the publication of The Vampyre by John Polidori. The story was highly successful and arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century and it is a progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction so popular today.
Reviews about The Vampyre (7):
Dorintrius
If you like Dracula or other classic vampire stories, you have to read this. It's the original vampire, and it is creepy and atmospheric. A must-read for fans of classic horror.
Tiv
I was very fortunate to stumble upon this book due to Amazon's recommendations. Although, a short read, the novel does not leave you without an anticipatory hunger for what is to happen next.
The foundation runs along the same lines as Dracula, with the lurid and ominously surreptitious vampire, whom reveals his true self to only one person; which in turn drives this person into madness.
The conclusion left me with the chills. I enjoyed it very much!
Faezahn
It is a classic. It is in the style of the XIX century literature, very well written and not so long so you can read it almost in one stand and enjoy it a lot.
NiceOne
Short and to the point
Worla
Great story poor publishing, it was more like a really good photocopy, disappointed is an understatement. Would not purchase from again
SupperDom
I probably should have checked this item out more carefully.
I expected a book, for the price, but instead received a pamphlet.
Not only was it embarassingly small, but 1/2 of it was redundant explanations of the history and origins of the story.
I wont make the same mistake again.
Tantil
A young man Aubrey is coming of age and tags along with Lord Ruthven, his friend and mentor, across Europe. Aubrey is enamored with Lord Ruthven sophisticated ways until his guardians point out that Lord Ruthven is depraved. Now he sees Ruthven in a new light an disides to strike out on his own.

While in Greece he is informed of vampires. Not really believing in them he realizes that their description matches Lord Ruthven.

He is in for a shocker however I will not go through the whole story as you will be fascinated to read it as it unfolded.

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I came to this book through the back door. After watching a movie "The Vampire's Ghost" (1945) I found the main character Webb Fallon loosely based on Lord Ruthven. So I had to read the book
"The Vampyre" has a pretty impressive pedigree -- it was first dreamed up on the same legendary night as Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the title character is based on Lord Byron (who actually got credited for the story). In fact, the history of Dr. John Polidori's short story is more fascinating than the story itself, a brief purple-prosed tale of innocence destroyed and a sinister aristocratic vampire.

A very naive, romantic young man named Aubrey becomes acquainted with a mysterious aristocrat named Lord Ruthven, and decides to go on a tour of Europe with him. But he soon discovers that Ruthven isn't the idealized romantic figure he thought -- he's cruel, depraved and has a corrupting influence on everyone he gets involved with.

Aubrey soon abandons Ruthven and flees to Greece, where he falls in love with a beautiful peasant girl -- only to have her die from a vampiric attack, followed by Ruthven being killed by bandits. Even more shocking, Ruthven reappears in London -- alive and well -- when Aubrey returns, and he has some spectacularly sinister plans in mind for Aubrey's sister.

The main character may be a vampire, but Polidori's story is less of a horror story and more of a study of innocence's destruction. Not only does Ruthven apparently wreck the morals of everyone he becomes close to (although we're never told how), but even the pure-hearted Aubrey turns into a glassy-eyed crazy wreck because of Ruthven.

Writingwise, I hope Polidori was a better doctor than he was a writer. His writing isn't BAD, but he tends to ramble in a purple, prim, distant style -- it feels like the entire story is a summary of someone else's novel, and he skims over the most interesting stuff like Ruthven's actual cruelty or his wooing of Aubrey's sister. But he does give the story an atmosphere of taut suspense especially when Aubrey is trying to escape Ruthven.

Ruthven (based on Byron) is a fairly fascinating character since he was the first aristocratic, elegant, attractive vampire that anybody knows of -- he's not just a monster, but a smart one who manipulates others to get the prize. We don't know whether he corrupts and murders because he's a vampire or whether he's just an evil manipulator, but strangely it makes him all the more fascinating.

"The Vampyre" has the distinction of being the first story involving an aristocratic, attractive vampire, and Lord Ruthven is a fascinating villain despite Polidori's clunky writing. Worth a read, if nothing else for the insights.

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