The Darker Passions: Carmilla (Mass Market Paperback)

by Amarantha Knight (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A shockingly sensual reinterpretation of Sheridan LeFanu's notorious chiller. Captivated by the portrait of a beautiful woman, a young man finds himself becoming gradually obsessed with her remarkable story. Little by little, he uncovers the many blasphemies and debaucheries with which the beauteous Laura filled her hourseven as a hungry, otherworldly presence began feasting upon her.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Rhinoceros Publications (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563335786
• ISBN-13: 978-1563335785
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,080,690 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Darker Passions : Carmilla, August 4, 2000

By	"siuzhi" - See all my reviews

Dr. Hesselius discovers an old box with a painting of a young woman and papers in the box. He's so drawn to the loveliness of the woman he takes the painting home and puts it up in his bedroom. He then spent weeks in his room looking at the picture and pleasuring himself. Finally realizing he has been letting his practice and other duties go he gets himself together and starts to read the parchments in the box. What Dr. Hesselius reads is a story written down by Laura the daughter of a dead general living in a castle in Styria with her English guardian Martin Miller and governess Madam Perrodon. While reading these papers Dr. Hesselius fantasizes about being with Laura and what she would feel like inside and out. Laura recants how isolated she is from the rest of humanity in the castle. She also tells how Madam Perrodon is a very stern, but loving governess, although Madam Perrodon does believe in very strict physical discipline. Madam Perrodon's preferred method of punishment is the bare derriere with the bristle side of a brush. She also seems to like the site of Laura's naked body. Laura seems to have a crush on Martin her guardian, but he seems to not be interested in her sexually in the slightest. Martin hires a finishing governess Madam De LaFontaine to help reacquaint Laura with French and other things it is necessary for a young lady of her position to know. Madam De LaFontaine also seems to be very fond of discipline, but her preferred methods are with riding crops and whips. Laura's two friends and their fathers come for a visit from time to time. Laura and her friends seem to be very physically intimate and very fond of each other. Madam Perron and Madam De Lafontaine also become very physically intimate and fond of each other as well. Martin and the fathers of Laura's friends also tend to be very fond of each other and physically intimate.One evening a carriage driving by the castle has a wreck. A young lady named Carmilla is hurt and taken in or a few months while her mother continues on her very important journey. Carmilla and Laura become physically and emotionally involved with each other. Carmilla becomes physically involved with Martin as well to the point he is totally obsessed with Carmilla and is jealous of the involvement of Carmilla and Laura. From the time Carmilla arrives deaths begin to occur in the village, suspicion eventually falls on Carmilla. There are a lot of very extreme erotic situations. The story is definitely not for everyone. There are a lot of same sex situations, whippings to the point of bleeding and pleasuring devices used in this book. The story is definitely on the edge and not something anyone easily offended should read, but in the same respect I liked it and if you don't mind same sex erotic encounters, spankings, submission and sexual devices used somewhat extremely this is definitely the book for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic in the Erotic Horror Genre, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

Good night! This one's a smoker. Set in the Victorian era, it narrates the sexual awakening of Laura, a gorgeous nubile blond, who lives with her guardian and governess in some far off Germanic castle. Laura's magnificent round bottom receives much loving attention from the characters who surround her, including the mysterious Carmilla. Carmilla is a gorgeous raven-haired succubus or vampire who has quite a sexual aura about her; at least to Laura, who falls deeper and deeper under her spell. The book has a great sort of mysterious mood to it and the sex scenes are vivid and hot. Amarantha Knight weaves a skillful erotic storyline and it's easy to become absorbed with the characters, particularly the submissive Laura and the dominant vampire lady, Carmilla von Karnstein. I highly recommend the book to erotic horror fans and lovers of Victorian erotica.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars My Dear Dark Goddess..., March 24, 2005

By	Lia "Rockqueen_x" (Brazil) - See all my reviews

I wonder why did Knight went through all the trouble of tucking in LeFanu's characters in this story and having the unfortunate idea of putting Carmilla in the middle of the title when, at best, the only thing that brings forth the original tale are the names.
If she had just made up some names of her own she would have written a fairly good gothic erotica book to read in an airplane and forget in the seat.
If you're an erotica fan, there's better around.
If you're a sado/party-kind erotic novel fan, give it a shot.
If you're a Carmilla fan, stay away.