Customer Reviews

Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read "Lair of the White Worm" many many years ago and this Deodand version is not the original. It has been edited. One word has been changed throughout the book, but only in specific places: The 'good guys' do not say the "N" word, they say "native." The 'bad guys' use the "N" word.

I enjoy the story, mostly because I adore Victorian fiction. I do not, however, enjoy a book that has been edited a century after the author's death in order to save the reader from words that are not acceptable any more.

This is a crazy little story that transported me out of my routine. I like the way Stoker shows warm feelings between the characters then juxtaposes them with an environment of extreme violence and insanity. If not for the repose of normal people in the novella, the strangeness of the story would cause it to fall apart. This is Stoker's signature method in Dracula as well. I loved the story and think it's the authors second best novel after Dracula. This single black edition of the Lair was neat because it forced me to focus only on the story and didn't get lost in an anthology.

I would have given this book zero stars if it were possible. I don't know what Bram Stoker was thinking, but this may be one of the worst stories that I've ever read. The narrative is undeveloped, occasionally incoherent, and there are many better books from the late nineteenth/early twentieth century that tackle the same issues but with much more success. If you love Dracula, then definitely steer clear of Lair of the White Worm, as it may ruin Stoker for you.

This is considered minor Stoker. The characterization and pacing are uneven and consistently bonkers. The writing is often cringeworthy with the exception of some sublime passages in chapters 10 and 28. Some attribute the weirdness and mediocrity of this book to Stoker writing it late in life, his brain and ideas ripened by syphilitic fever, but there doesn't seem to be any proof of this fantastic scenario. Regardless, this strange shorter work of fiction is arguably the Stoker's dark horse. While not for everyone, fans of outsider art, surrealist fiction or maximalist genre exercises will undoubtedly recognize it as a diamond in the rough. Stoker's treatment of postcolonial themes and Victorian gender tropes leaves familiar genre mainstays turned on their heads. The text is jammed with cameos from virtually all conceivable cliches that comprise Gothic and period fantasy/science fiction, but Stoker deliberately presents them as ridiculous and over the top. Some critics note that The Lair of the White Worm bears similarities to Dracula as an example of reverse colonialism that comments on the state of imperialist culture at the end of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Analysis aside, this book is crazy fun for anyone who appreciates raw creativity without a lot of polish. Fans of H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King and Philip K. Dick, terrible but creative writers whose imaginative ideas eclipse their technical abilities, might find The Lair of the White Worm especially worthwhile.

Adam Salton, born and raised in Australia, is contacted by his granduncle in England, for the purpose of establishing a relationship between these last two members of the family. Adam travels to Richard Salton's house in Mercia, and quickly finds himself in the center of some inexplicable occurrences.

The new heir to the Caswall estate, Edgar Caswall appears to be making some sort of a mesmeric assault on a local girl. And, a local lady, Arabella March, seems to be running a game of her own, perhaps angling to become Mrs. Caswall. There is something strange about Lady March, something inexplicable and evil.

This book has elements that should make it a gripping story. Unfortunately, the tendency of the characters to move on, after a fantastic event, as if nothing unusual had happened gives the story a disjointed, surreal feel. This story just does not come together, but rambles along to its uninspiring conclusion. I do not recommend this book.

The Lair of the White Worm (which is also known as The Garden of Evil) is a classic horror novel by Bram Stoker, who is most famous for Dracula (1897), regarded as the greatest horror novel ever written. It was published in 1911, the year before Stoker's death. In 1988, Ken Russell adapted the novel into a film starring Hugh Grant.

The plot of the novel centers on Adam Salton, originally from Sydney, Australia, who is contacted by his grand-uncle by letter, Richard Salton, in England for the purpose of establishing a relationship between these last two members of the family. Richard Salton wants to leave all his property and assets to Adam, including his estate, Lesser Hill. Adam arrives at the port of Southampton and travels to Richard Salton's house in Mercia, the estate of Lesser Hill, and quickly finds himself in the center of mysterious and inexplicable occurrences. The novel takes place in 1860. He tours the Mercia countryside and travels to Liverpool and becomes familiar with the terrain and its history. He learns that the area has an ancient history going back to Roman times and the time of the Druids. He discovers that Romans had settled the region and had built a temple there.

Edgar Caswall is the new heir to the Caswall estate, Castra Regis, the Royal Camp. Edgar Caswall is obsessed with mesmerism, an early form of hypnotism. Lady Arabella March is a mysterious widow whose husband committed suicide, being found with a gunshot wound to the head. He left no money, only debts. Arabella is haughty and domineering wearing tight white clothes that give her a snake-like appearance.

Adam Salton discovers black snakes on the property and buys a mongoose to hunt them down. The mongoose is able to kill the snakes. He then discovers a child with bite wounds on the neck. The child barely survives. He learns that another child was killed earlier while animals were also killed in the region. The mongoose attacks Arabella who shoots it to death. Arabella tears another mongoose apart with her hands. Arabella then murders Oolanga, the African servant, by dragging him down into a pit or hole. Adam then suspects Arabella of the other crimes.

Adam and Sir Nathaniel de Salis plot to stop Arabella by whatever means necessary. They suspect that she wants to murder Mimi Watford. Her half-sister is Lilla Watford. They are tenants of Caswall on the Mercy Farm estate with their grand-father Michael Watford. Sir Nathaniel is an Abraham Van Helsing type of character who knows the ancient history of the region. Arabella assumes a Dracula-like menace as Adam and Nathaniel track her down to destroy her. Arabella knows about the secret of the White Worm, a gigantic snake-like creature that lives in the pit on her estate, and seeks to exploit it to attain greater power and mastery.

The White Worm is a large snake-like creature that lives in the hole or pit in Arabella's house. The White Worm has green glowing eyes and feeds on whatever is thrown to it in the pit. The green eyes image harkens back to the green eyes of the black cat in "The Squaw" (1892), one of Stoker's best short stories. The White Worm ascends from the pit and seeks to attack Adam and Mimi Watford in a forest.

Adam plans to pour sand into the pit and to use dynamite to kill the giant White Worm in the pit.

Edgar Caswall is a slightly pathological eccentric who has Mesmer's chest which he keeps at the Doom Tower. Caswall wants to recreate mesmerism, associated with Anton Mesmer, which was a precursor to hypnotism. He has a giant kite in the shape of a hawk to scare away pigeons which have gone berzerk and have attacked his fields.

In the final scene, Adam Salton, Mimi Watford, and Nathaniel de Salis confront Arabella and Edgar Caswall. A thunderstorm and lightning destroy Diana's Grove by igniting the dynamite.

The Lair of the White Worm is a surreal horror fantasy novel by one of the greatest horror writers of all time. Dracula is arguably the greatest horror novel ever written in any language. It inspired the German horror classic Nosferatu and the 1931 Universal seminal classic Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. That movie started the horror genre in the US and around the world, being Universal's first horror movie. Dracula proved to be a huge success which convinced Universal to release other horror movies.

Most readers only know Bram Stoker for one work, Dracula. He wrote other novels, however, such as The Lady of the Shroud, Miss Betty, The Jewel of Seven Stars about Egyptian mummies, The Man (or The Gates of Life), The Lair of the White Worm, and short story collections such as Dracula's Guest (1914) and Under the Sunset (1882). The Lair of the White Worm is a short novel, approximately 120 pages in length. It is highly recommended. It has unforgettable surreal images and fantasy horror. The novel has an other-worldly, nightmare quality, alien, unreal feel or ambience to it, like it was set on another world. It is a page-turner and a book difficult to put down. It is well-written and recaptures some of the menace and terror of Dracula but lacks that novel's focus and realism.

The Lair of the White Worm is a must-read and a must-own horror novel for anyone interested in the genre by the foremost horror writer, Bram Stoker. The novel was published one year before Stoker died. He managed to get in one more shocker and thriller.

A shorter novel. An english uncle calls on an aussie nephew to come and help him out. Strange things are happening, you have a possibly evil hypnotist and the very likely sinister Lady March.

This is all pretty minor compared to the big-arse snake monster or intrepid traveller finds in a cave.

As it turns out, there is not much chance that Lady Arabella March is what she seems.