Popular vampirologist Pam Keesey invites you to feast in the company of the most beautiful, alluring and untamed women in history. From Dark Goddesses to flappers, Vamps: An Illustrated History of The Femme Fatale presents 2,000 years of campy, witty and dangerous Bad Girls -vampires, witches, bitches, vamps, femmes fatales, & screen trash together for the first time. Popular culture - especially film - is filled with images of the femme fatale, the woman who destroys those she seduces. According to Keesey, all bad girls can trace their origins to the vampire, that quintessential evil woman who uses sex as a weapon. From Greta Garbo to Sharon Stone, these irresistible women are marked as excessively sexual, creatures of great appetites who step outside the realm of acceptable feminine behavior to satisfy their desires. Keesey's fascinating cultural history is punctuated by excerpts of interviews with film stars and critics. Vamps book is a must-buy for vampire lovers and movie fans who treasure images of women as powerful, sexual beings. Includes 100 black and white photographs (including rare photographs of film favorites) along with complete annotated filmography, bibliography and video resources.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Books about goddesses, books about vampires, and books about film stars are common, but Vamps: An Illustrated History of the Femme Fatale is a rare treat: it combines all those topics and more within a historical context for understanding our long-time fascination with the dangerous, alluring female. The story starts in prehistory with the worship of a mother goddess who was also the Lady of the Beasts, and spans the centuries from ancient Greek and medieval views of harmful women through the hysterics of the romantic period. The history of film vamps goes from Theda Bara in A Fool There Was (1915) to Natasha Henstridge in the Species movies (1990s), and includes beautiful photographs of all the usual suspects--Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Tallulah Bankhead, Louise Brooks, Maila Nurmi (a.k.a. Vampira), the two Morticias, and many others.
A coffee-table-size paperback, Vamps is also an eye-catching blend of well-researched (but lighthearted) writing and dramatic black-and-white illustrations on every page. Author Pam Keesey is already known for her knowledge of dark female characters, having edited other Cleis publications such as Women Who Run with the Werewolves: Tales of Blood, Lust and Metamorphosis and Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Stories. She draws on an impressive range of sources, including The Malleus Maleficarum, Robert Graves's The White Goddess, 1950s fetish magazines, and even Pat Robertson on the subject of feminism. The artwork samples ancient stone carvings, medieval engravings, and portraits of dangerous women by John Singer Sargeant and Edvard Munch, among others. Included are a bibliography, a filmography of stars, a videography of titles, and an index.
The only thing that seems off-base about this book is that a whole chapter is devoted to Sharon Stone. Maybe Keesey is a big fan. --Fiona Webster
From Booklist
Keesey's lavishly illustrated survey of screen sirens and bad girls traces "the image of the fatal woman, both sacred and profane." It provides historical context to make the case that the archetype of the femme fatale is the ancient goddess, "the ultimate expression of women's ancient power," which "was and is a sexual power." Keesey asserts that the femme fatale blossomed in the nineteenth-century vampire craze before becoming manifest in the screen "vamp." Whatever. The book is as concerned with pop-culture bad girls in general and what has made them irresistible. Keesey weaves legend and folklore into the fabric of her portrait of the vamp in pop culture in fine style. Both the feminists and the "goths" (who try to look like something out of a vampire flick) among film fans will find this resource to their liking. Mike Tribby
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More About the Author
Pam Keesey is well known for her writing on women in horror, including her books Daughters of Darkness, Dark Angels, Women Who Run with the Werewolves, and Vamps: An Illustrated History of the Femme Fatale. She is the editor and publisher of MonsterZine, an online horror movie magazine that, in the words of Dr. Frank C. Baxter of The Mole People (1956), explores the meaning and significance of horror movies in the 21st century. Pam has also worked as a technical writer, a news editor, and as an editor of occult books in Spanish.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun book,
By "lordlev" (NYC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Vamps: An Illustrated History of the Femme Fatale (Paperback)
This book is a lot of fun. Ms. Keesey goes about chronicaling the history of the "Femme Fatale" - the fatal woman using books and stories, though her primary media is cinema. She leaves nothing unturned, either, exploring B films, cult cinema, and pornography. The book is informative, even if it doesnt go deep into many ideas. I found it like reading a special issue of a favorite magazine. The pictures are excellent, the style is funny. Ms. Keesey also clearly has a definate concept of the evolution of the Femme Fatale, portraying it as somewhat linear, and the lesbian edge, while interesting, and certainly valid, seems emphasized to the point where you wonder if non-lesbian women are even capable of being Femme Fatale's in this day and age. However, it is a fun fun read, and the pictures are great. An excellent coffee table book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A nighttime delight!,
This review is from: Vamps: An Illustrated History of the Femme Fatale (Paperback)
The rare book that combines deft writing with a wealth of facts about the women we love to hate (or envy as the case may be). A great book for both movie fans and vampire lovers, this book (given to me as a hcliday gift) is one I will read and re-read for years to come for entertainment, inspiration and research for my novels. Thanks, Pam!
2.0 out of 5 stars
Boring!,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Vamps: An Illustrated History of the Femme Fatale (Paperback)
Some of the pictures in this book are pretty fine, but the actual writing (in my opinion) lacks a lot. Author seems determined to link female vampires to lesbians. One definition of vamp is: Seductive Woman, a woman who uses her sexual attractiveness for the seduction and manipulation of others. This is the traditional form and is also considered short for vampire. Vampire doesn't indicate sexual preference. Overall, I would not rate this book as a page turned in any way, shape, or form.
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