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Varney the Vampyre: Volume I, The Feast of Blood

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`Varney the Vampire, Or the Feast of Blood' was originally serializes 1845-47, about a half century before Bram Stoker created Dracula. Though less famous than the inimitable Count, `Varney' as the book has its own merit with the complicated and fascinating personality of the vampire protagonist that deserves more attention, but at the same time you will find this long book a very demanding read. It depends on the edition you have, but my three-volume edition exceeds 860 pages, which means you need the same energy as reading longer novels in Victorian era, like Dickens and Thackeray.

From the very beginning `Varney the Vampire' intends to be what it is - so-called penny dreadful which is aimed for sensational, blood-curdling scenes with crude but powerful sentences. The book opens with the vampire's nightly visitation to the chamber where one young and beautiful maiden Flora Bannerworth is sleeping. The shrieking and fainting of the lady would lead to the hunting of the vampire by her two brothers. Charles Dickens would have spent more than ten pages to describe all these things. James Malcolm Rymer, the supposed author of the serial novel, spends only one or two. Still, the sentences, clearly written hurriedly, are curiously attractive.

After the initial clash between Varney and the Bannerworths, the story gets more and more digressive with the new characters and episodes thrown into the main plot. The mystery behind Varney's insistence on his buying the mansion where Flora's family live is explained, but the motives are not convincing. But you are not given enough time to think about the numerous plot holes because the story keeps going, and it goes so fast. That does not mean, however, that Rymer is an awful writer. Even those who dislike the macabre and sensational penny dreadful styles would admit that Rymer can provide pretty gripping descriptions (like the mob and their furious attack on Varney) if he wants to.

Halfway in the book Rymer discards the Bannerworth story, and introduces new episodes one after another. They are mostly about familiar themes - quite theatrical and melodramatic ones such as shipwrecks, an innocent girl and her greedy mother (and unwilling marriage of the former), midnight mystery at inn, etc. The middle part is repetitious and often pretty dull, I must say.

Sometimes it is said that `Varney' has been influential in the history of the whole gothic novels, especially those with vampire theme. (The book, for example, ends with well-written passages about a girl, whose shocking fate reminds of that of Lucy in `Dracula.')

If you are interested in the vampires in the gothic novels, or Victorian fiction for that matter, you might find it a fairly fascinating read even though a considerable portion of the book is used to tell stories that are not directly related to vampires. Perhaps I may be wrong, but to me, the importance of the book is, if any, historical rather than artistic one.

Note: In some editions Thomas Peckett Prest is credited with the book, but today the work is generally attributed to Rymer.

Vampire lovers every where have to read this book, just because it was one of the first vampire books that is still recognized. It is true that Rymer isn't the world's geatest writter, and I think I kind of understand why they were called penny dreadfuls, but still read this book. It's good, considering, and it's an excellent book to refer to. Bram Stoker is thought to be influnced by Varney. Fang fanatics, expecially ones of the classic nature, should read this book.

Varney The Vampyre started out as a serial, where each chapter sold for a penny or more, forcing readers to wait for each new twist, every new adventure and amazing plot point. Coming out 1845 it was published into book form in 1847.
This version is the first book in a three book series. Very much in the style of the period it reminds one of The Three Musketeers in which each chapter has to give a small history of the past chapters. Also, for authors getting paid by the letter or by the chapter, this allows them to really get as wordy as they want. James Malcolm Rymer must have been a very rich man by the time he was finished.
Yet, the story is not just long winded. There IS action, humor, some VERY interesting characters and even moves along at a fast pace. Frankly, it also reminds me a tad of Dark Shadows. But not as melodramatic.

Being interested in British serialed publications I came across Varney the Vampyre and decided to give it a look. I found the first volume of the recent republication to be very interesting and got pulled into the story. However, there are some parts to the story that tend to slow down the plot; one of these are two points when a character reads something to pass the time and to try to relax due to occuring events. At this point the author actually tells the reader the exact words the character is reading that turns out to be complete short stories within the story. Although this was a little interesting to know what the characters were reading, it took away from the pace of the original story. The other four volumes of this reprinting are on my reading list for the near furture.

If you are a fan of gothic literature (especially the early 1760-1825 books) and of the vampyre...this is not to be missed!

I got the 1974 Dover reprint of the orginal penny dreadful, that is the one I would reccommend, though it is hard to find cheap. They reproduce it exactly how the londoner's in 1840 would have read it....illustrations, text type and all.

The prose if of course not a masterpiece as they had to write these in a huge hurry and right on the spot most the time, but nonetheless it is an excellent read for historical reasons and enjoyment. It was the most popular of the penny dreadfuls, which were huge during the 1840's-60's.

G. Stanton below said that it was published under Thomas Prest's name when it was a serial in 1840, which is not correct. These (and most of them) were published anonymously...the title page of Varney...all it says for author is...."By the author of Grace Rivers: Or the Merchant's Daughter." If they were not published anon, than the majority used a pseudonym. Rymer was a prolific author as was Prest....but they didn't actually publish a lot of material in their real names. But from the research that was done on both authors/comparing them both with Varney ...as too writing and syntax style...to me it appears clear that Rymer wrote Varney the Vampire.

Montague Summers was the person who got everyone fixated on the idea that it was Prest who wrote the dreadful, from the detailed literary research I have seen...it is most obviously to be given to Rymer for credit.


If you like short and non-wordy novels, this might be a tough slog to get through...it's obviously LONG...but I thought it was wonderful....

As mentioned in other reviews, this is what is known as a "penny dreadful". Ryder was paid by the WORD, which becomes quite apparent after reading a few pages of endless dialogue. However, the importance of this tale's influence on other vampire writers cannot be overlooked. Many familar themes are here- the vampire has a ghastly pallour, lustreless eyes and sharp teeth, he can be revived by moonlight, and what's interesting to any Dark Shadows fan is the plotline where hanging in Bannerworth Hall is a painting of a long dead nobleman who looks just like the suspected vampire (which perhaps also influenced LeFanu in "Carmilla"). You'll probably find yourself skimming through pages- a few sentences and you'll get the gist of what's happening. But this is a volume that any vampire literary collector should have in their library.

Get the ZITTAW press edition instead! It's filled with great information. This current is terrible and expensive. The ZITTAW press edition is excellent!

All true vampire fans should definitely check this one out. It's way long and totally 19th century (obviously, that's when it was written), but it's still great, even for those who prefer Anne Rice.