Customer Reviews

The Vampyre: 1819 (Revolution and Romanticism, 1789-1834)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well i must say that this book was given to me when i was like 8 yrs old, i read the book and have been hooked ever since on horror books especially vampire books and it's more than 10 yrs later and i still read this book! I give it 5 stars because this is a great book for young readers that want to start reading horror or vampire books..

Probably more legend surrounds the writing of this novella than the actual story itself. Polidori never received more than a few pounds, but the Vampire was translated into over seven languages and adapted for a play on the continent. Goethe cheekily says that it was the best thing Byron ever wrote!

However much this might be based on Byron's fragment, Polidori wrote it at the behest of a patroness after leaving Byron's service. Polidori had been teased and ostracised by Byron and the Shelleys. He himself was volatile and had probably had enough of being called Pollydolly.

The Vampire was published without poor Polly's permission, and under Byron's name. It sold like hotcakes. The mixture of melodrama and intrigue delighted the public and began our modern obsession with vampires which just won't die. Yes, there's the cliche of the innocent woman, Ianthe, getting seduced by the mysterious stranger, and her relation's slow unravelling of the danger. But it was Polidori's modelling of the Vampire on his ex-employer that has given this book longevity and made it a genre setter.

The Vampire is written quite well - the prose may be over-flowery but Mary Shelley's Frankenstein suffers from the same. The unravelling of the story as Lord Ruthven (pronounced Riven) takes the protganists further into his confidences, and the amusing ending, make it worth a read.

"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.

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!

Many years ago a group of friends got together and tried to scare each other with scary stories. Among the group were Lord Byron, The poet Shelly and his wife Mary, and Byron's physician John Polidori. Mary Shelly's tale, Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus, has lived on as has The Vampyre by John Polidori. The Vampyre was the first major English vampire story. Fleshcreepers attempts to bring this classic tale to a younger audience.

The story opens as a young man of means encounters a dead woman one night. The scene haunts him as he seems to get drawn into other dark scenes. He becomes fascinated by a the Lord Ruthven, an aristocrat of mysterious nature. He even goes so far as to go on a tour of Europe with him. But soon the young man begins to suspect that not is all as it seems with the Lord. His suspicions and their resolution make up the rest of the story.

This is an entertaining tale, and while intended for younger readers, is far from genteel. The adaptation does a good job of building the terror and horror and inevitable conclusion. A pretty spooky little book.

This is a very old book, and the language is appropriate to the late 1800's. For devotees of vampire literature, maybe this would make the book even more interesting. But for me, a casual reader of vampire tales, it made reading it an ordeal and, honestly, not worth the effort. If you go into this book knowing that, then you will perhaps be rewarded.

According to Top Ten reviewer, E.A. Solinas, whose opinion I completely respect, this is the first known story of a vampire who was elegant and attractive. So, again for the historical perspective, this book should possibly be on the list of all readers who savor the genre. For me, the language was stilted and off-putting, and the story itself could be described by the B word (i.e., boooooooring...)

Enter at your own risk...

The book was good