Three Vampire Tales: Dracula, Carmilla, and The Vampyre (New Riverside Editions)

Book Description

Three classic works of vampire literature come together for the first time in one volume. Complementing the complete texts are background essays as well as additional selections by the three authors and others. Because the vampire novel has proven so influential in film, an extensive filmography is included.

Customer Reviews:

The Great 19th Century Vampires & Their Antecedents. .......2005-03-06

"Three Vampire Tales" is a collection of 19th century vampire literature that follows the increasing popularity of vampires in English literature, from Lord Byron's 1812 poem, "The Giaour", to the culmination of that century's vampire tales in Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel "Dracula". The three featured stories are: John Polidori's "The Vampyre", the first vampire short story in English, published in 1819; "Carmilla" by Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu, published in 1872 as part of Le Fanu's "In a Glass Darkly" collection; and Bram Stoker's mythic 1897 novel "Dracula". All three works are included in their entirety.

"The Vampyre" concerns a taciturn, enigmatic vampire called Lord Ruthven, and Aubrey, a young naive aristocrat, who is at first pleased to have Ruthven as a traveling companion. In the course of their adventures on the Continent, Aubrey comes to understand Ruthven's predatory character. But Ruthven requests an oath of secrecy on his deathbed, to which Aubrey agrees, only to find himself in a dire predicament when Ruthven turns up again, very much alive. This is a good story once you acclimate to the somewhat overburdened prose style.

Sheridan Le Fanu is the most accomplished stylist of these three authors, and "Carmilla" has a crisp, delicate style. It shares with "Dracula" the technique of "authenticating" the story by making it out to be a first-person documentation of the events in question. A prologue explains that the story was written more than a decade after the events described, by the woman who experienced them in her youth. The story tells of 19-year-old Laura, who lives on an estate in Styria, Austria, with her widowed father and 2 governesses. The family takes in a lovely, but oddly languid, young woman named Carmilla who was shaken up in a nearby carriage accident. Soon after, women in the surrounding countryside begin to die mysteriously, and Laura experiences strange visitations in the night.

I won't say much about "Dracula" here, because I have said so much elsewhere. The novel has never gone out of print since its publication in 1897, and its continuing influence on literature, film, and popular culture is incalculable. "Three Vampire Tales" is not as limited as the title implies, however. After an informative introduction by editor Anne Williams, the first part of the book addresses other 19th century literary vampires and their influence on Polidori, Le Fanu, and Stoker. This is interesting, because that century's vampire stories are closely related.

For those who aren't familiar with the legend, I'll briefly describe the events of July 1816 at the Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva to which so much of the 19th century's vampire literature can be connected by some means: Lord Byron, his personal physician John Polidori, poet Percy Shelley, and his wife-to-be, Mary Godwin were staying at the Villa and, on one rainy evening, entertaining themselves by reading poetry aloud. After the recitation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Christabel" provoked some sort of panic attack in Shelley, Lord Byron proposed that each member of the party write a ghost story. "Christabel" was the inspiration for Le Fanu's "Carmilla". Two notable works of fiction emerged from this writing exercise. Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein". John Polidori wrote "The Vampyre", based on a fragment that Lord Byron wrote but never finished. Polidori published the story under Byron's name to boost sales, and Byron subsequently fired him.

Part One of "Three Vampire Tales" includes a fragment of Lord Byron's poem "The Gaiour", the story fragment upon which Polidori based his story, the introduction that Polidori wrote to "The Vampyre", most of the poem "Christabel", an except from the penny-dreadful "Varney the Vampyre", 3 excepts by "Dracula" scholars Christopher Frayling and Elizabeth Miller about Bram Stoker's sources for "Dracula", including a source list from Stoker's notes, and the "lost chapter", "Dracula's Guest", which Stoker at one point intended to be "Dracula"'s opening chapter. Emulating "Carmilla", it takes place in Styria. So this is a nice selection of the works that led up to and influenced the more prominent "Three Vampire Tales". There are also chronologies for Polidori, Le Fanu, and Stoker in the back of the book. And there is a vampire filmography that lists title, date, and director by year. I don't know if this is supposed to be a comprehensive list of vampire films, but there are about 200, so it might be.

Before Bram Stoker's Dracula..........2004-10-11

There was John Polidori's The Vampyre and Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla. This book has all THREE plus chapters that trace early appearances of vampires in literarty works and chapters that focus on Stoker's research into and his creative use of vampire sources. Also the cancelled chapter never used in Dracula, called "Dracula's Guest", which is a story all by itself. To wrap up the book there is a list of vampire films, listed by year, in the back. Very detailed, very complete - perfect as a gift or just an addition to any vampire library.

Great compilation........2004-05-27

Dracula is a classic that is worth the price of admission by itself. But when you add Carmilla, Vampyre, and the other little extras then it becomes a must buy for any fantasy or vampire fan. Pick it up. You wont be sorry.

An unprecedented resource.......2004-05-11

A note from the editor (Anne Williams): This volume brings together the texts needed to follow the evolution of the vampire through the nineteenth century. The vampire first appears in Lord Byron's "The Giaour," a bit of folklore he picked up when traveling in Greece. The first vampire tale in English emerges from the ghost-story-writing contest in 1816 that also produced "Frankenstein." Sheridan LeFanu's novella, "Carmilla" describes the dangers of a female vampire, a story which in turned influenced Bram Stoker, whose "Dracula" provided the archetype of the monster that has influenced countless movies and novels. This edition also contains an introduction speculating about the enduring appeal of this monster, a filmography, and critical and literary excerpts establishing the cultural context out of which the fantasy emerged.

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A great tale of another age
This is the best vampire story ever
The best vampire story
High Praise for a Genre I'm Not Even Totally Into!
By the writer appreciated by Bram Stoker and M.R James.

Carmilla

Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1587155958
Release Date: 2005-01-28

Book Description

Before Dracula came Carmilla -- the tale of an excuisite and beautiful vampire and the young woman she befriends and feeds upon. Part of the Wildside Fantasy Classics series.

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A chilling tale of the un-dead, Carmilla is a beautifully written example of the gothic genre. The story takes the reader into the dark, mysterious world of a girl and her family tormented by visitations and nightmares. While the continual reoccurrence of a beautiful woman, unknown, yet familiar, meanders through the lives of the characters, to the very heart of the story, the precise use of language emphasises and heightens the images that the book presents and sends the reader spiralling towards its bloody conclusion. Said to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker's gothic masterpiece 'Dracula', Carmilla stands out as a classic horror masterpiece.

Customer Reviews:

A great tale of another age.......2007-04-22

This is a wonderful little story about a lonely little girl born into a good family (wealth, and character) who is visited and befriended by a petulant little child who turns out to be the most dangerous vampire in history. Carmilla reeks of a romance of times not seen in the urban and suburban vistas of America. Carmilla (the story, not the girl) is of a time when the darkness following sunset relegated everyone in the village to their homes and most oftn their sleeping quarters. There might be small gatherings to hear tales or sing songs, but these were not as frequent as one might imagine. Life was comprised of survivial first, community second, and recreation when one could find it. Into this mix the soft-spoken, beautiful doll who is Carmilla (the girl, not the story) enters, only to siphon off the very sanctity of a quiet little hamlet, turning it into a chilling town of death. Carmilla would have lasted in this village for quite some time had she not gotten carelss. Some speculate that she actually did not die (much like "The Laughing Jesus" controversy), but the tale is a bit ambiguous, just enough to lave doubt in the minds of the true believers.

This story is short and tightly focused on one incident, rathr than the saga of terror carmilla pread throughout her life travelling Europe. As such it leaves much to the imagination of exatly who carmillas was and how she became to be. Written before Braum Stoker ever heard of vampiers, this is simply the one of best tales of vampirism ever written.

This is the best vampire story ever.......2007-04-19

Carmilla is the most important vampire story ever written. She predates Braum Stoker and takes us back to a time long before modern medicine, electricity, or late-night runs to Starbucks. The tale is as dark as the countryside in which it is set. To truly understand the tale however you must understand the time it was told in, and its historical evidence.

There have been thousands of verified cases of vampirism throughout history. Priests, constables, mayors, doctors, lawyers and judges, magistrates, and any number of respected members of society have set their hand (and seal) to oath stating "I have hereby witnessed what can only be described as a vampire." This has happened time and again all over the world, and Carmilla, sweet loving daughter and succubus is a queen among them. The story is labeled fiction by the uninitiated, but it is more a faction, and more than enough time has passed to let it be known anyway. Modern science would be delighted to actually have the evidence today to examine, and sadly that is the dilemma, for the vampires (including our diminutive friend Mircalla, Malarca, and others...) have long-since abandoned us. They are simply nowhere to be found. But if you ever find yourself in a small lonely town far away from modern Europe you may catch a whiff of the sent, a trail gone cold, but still possible to follow. Carmilla was there before you. Perhaps, just perhaps...

The best vampire story.......2006-12-22

This was Stokers influence for his novel Dracula. It is by far the most sensual ethereal vampire story ever written. LeFanu's work can only be described as opulently poetic

High Praise for a Genre I'm Not Even Totally Into!.......2005-11-28

J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla is included in its entirety in a compilation book of Irish literature that I own. I wasn't impressed with a lot of the stuff I was looking at in it, but one day when I was ill from work, I leafed through the compilation to Le Fanu's mini novel and, once I began to read it, couldn't put it down until I was finished. This is highly unusual for me because I'm not big on gothic stories. However, this novella is addictive, fast paced, and one gets caught up in it as they read by sheer imagination when fueled by exceptionally talented writing.

I also thought the vampiress was showing strong lesbian traits, but wondered if Le Fanu could ever have gotten his work published if that were the case. No matter, as the story sucks you into its darkness (no pun intended) and you can actually feel Laura's growing despondency as Carmilla slowly drains away her life force rather than the Dracula-like depictions of quick attacks we often get in movies and the like. I think I was almost as creeped out by her violently emotional outbursts at the sound of a church choir and Laura seeming to take it in stride.

Intriguing and engaging, never dull, and able to transport the reader right to that eery place and time, Carmilla is a novella that takes a short time to read and still leaves you wanting more. Leave it to the Irish, who are responsible for most of the Holloween customs we follow today, to give us a timelessly stylish and truly frightening story such as this one!

By the writer appreciated by Bram Stoker and M.R James........2005-05-20

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is appreciated by Bram Stoker and M.R James, I can see why.

Le Fanu's use of atmosphere is remarkable, he builds the scenes up and up. His writings are by no means gory, but they are very horrific, due to his wonderful plot devices and descriptions.

'Carmilla' has to be my favourite of Le Fanu's wonderous stories, it is dramatic, chilling and at times quite tender. The pace is just right and the short chapters keep you hooked, and you will want to read more and more, I struggle to put this book down.

If it has one fault, it is the lack of explanation for the other 'villains' of the story, who was the strange man that entered the Masque? (I presume he was a Karnstien).

But the lack of explanation for that man, the Countess and the strange dark woman in the carriage, stimulates the brain.

I would suggest that fans of 'Dracula' should read this as Stoker himself loved the story, and even considered making his novel about a Styria Countess not unlike 'Carmilla'. A further insight into Stoker's admiration for this exquisit piece of fiction, can be seen in Stoker's short story 'Dracula's Guest'.

Also if you like the works of M.R James, then you should read this, and Le Fanu's other stories, as James uses the same style and has written a bit about Le Fanu.

James said of 'In A Glass Darkly' (the Anthology in which 'Carmilla' can be found):

"The volume called In a Glass Darkly is probably the best known, next to Uncle Silas, of all the author's works, and to those who have read it, the titles "The Familiar", "Mr Justice Harbottle", "Carmilla" and "Green Tea" will suggest the remembrance of an agreeable thrill. The two first, and "Squire Toby's Will", I should assert to be the best ghost stories in the English language"

Thank you very much for reading my review. I hope it helps.

Average customer rating:

Classy version of classic horror story

Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale
J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: The Audio Partners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Book Description

When an accident occurs on a road near their castle, Laura and her father take in the stranded survivor. Carmilla and Laura both appear young, beautiful, and innocent. But one is an ageless vampire; the other, an unsuspecting victim. True to vampire rituals involving blood, fear of dying, and obsessive eroticism, Carmilla herself falls victim to the "rapture of cruelty that is love."

Customer Reviews:

Classy version of classic horror story.......1998-07-28

"Carmilla," which predates Stoker's "Dracula," introduced the lesbian vampire to literature, and this reading of the entire text by Megan Follows breathes real life into LeFanu's somewhat antiquated Victorian style. Follows makes the narrator Laura into an intelligent and compelling guide through the tale; she also puts the proper ambivalence in the descriptions of Carmilla's advances, vampiric and otherwise. Indeed, what's most impressive is how clearly the lesbian subtext is presented, and how much emotion is involved. Altbough the plot is a little obvious after two centuries of rip-offs, LeFanu's innate storytelling skill and Follows' presentation make the anachronisms fairly painless, and the uniquely unsettling bits still have their chills.

Average customer rating:

a masterpiece

Carmilla
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: Prime Classics Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0809510839

Customer Reviews:

a masterpiece.......2007-06-08

A masterpiece of the fantastic litterature. After that you can read "Dracula" of Bram Stoker and watch "Nosferatu" of Georg Wilhelm Murnau and "Nosferatu" of Werner Herzog. Not the stupidity of Coppola: "Dracula". That's for children and "Family Viewing". We are fans of Vampires. No?

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Carmilla
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1419112120

Book Description

Nothing remained to assure us that the adventure had not been an illusion of a moment but the young lady, who just at that moment opened her eyes.

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Carmilla
J., Sheridan LeFanu , and J., Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 159818282X

Book Description

Carmilla is the book that set the text for Dracula, that threw the light on our morbid fascination with the vampire legend. This is Carmilla, J. Sheridan LeFanu's classic novel of blood, terror -- and a love that dare not speak its name.

Average customer rating:

Oh my lord!
Leave the classics alone!
Cover better than the book
Carmilla - The Return
Superb- Better Than the Original

Carmilla : The Return
Kyle Marffin
Manufacturer: Design Image Group Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1891946021

Amazon.com

Ever since J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla--an important (and openly acknowledged) influence on Bram Stoker's Dracula--horror writers have celebrated lesbian vampires in print and in the cinema. It seems a bit surprising that before this novel, no one had written a faithful follow-up to the tale of Carmilla herself.

Kyle Marffin's Carmilla: The Return weaves flashbacks from Carmilla's undead past, starting in her 19th-century Austrian homeland and continuing into a story line set in the 1990s. Like many older vampires, she's a bit lost in the modern world, traveling with a meager knapsack containing an antique copy of In a Glass Darkly and a small pouch of gemstones. We get to know her character through its reflection in the women who become obsessed with her--especially the bright and restless Lauren, on whom Carmilla fixates as the one she hopes will join her in an idealized fantasy of vampires in love for centuries. Men will stubbornly intervene, though, to protect their daughters and girlfriends from predators like Carmilla, so eventually things come to a head during a snowstorm in the wilds of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. But Lauren has her wits about her: she's no romantic fool.

If you think you've read enough vampire books to last a lifetime, think again. This one's got restrained and skillful writing, a complex and believable love story, gorgeous scenery, sudden jolts of violence, and a thought-provoking final sequence that will keep you reading until the sun comes up.

Here's a suggestion: read Le Fanu's version, then read this next (and perhaps not last) take on the famous female vampire who loves nothing so much as a warm woman to pull into her bed. --Fiona Webster

Book Description

Kyle Marffin debuts with a provocative modern day retelling of

Sheridan LeFanu's classic 19th century novella, resurrecting the genre's most notorious

female vampire - the seductive Countess Carmilla Karnstein. Revealing her unwritten

history while replaying the events of the original classic tale, Carmilla relentlessly stalks

an unsuspecting victim through glittering city streets to the desolate northwoods,

ultimately returning to the dark roots of her haunted Styrian homeland.

Customer Reviews:

Oh my lord!.......2005-05-21

What has this world come to!

One of the best Vampire stories ever written has got a sequel!

A sequel by another author and set in modern day!

I cannot believe the publishers allowed this to be published. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was a magnificent horror writer, a British Poe, respected by Stoker, James and many more authors. 'Carmilla', Le Fanu's story, needed no sequel especially not one set in the modern day. Also the way this is writen is not at all good, and the author made no effort to write in a similar style to Le Fanu, notwithstanding, that he is writing a sequel to Le Fanu's story!

I suggest you buy this for cheap in a car boot sale or second hand book shop, if you study Vampires in literature, but don't buy it expecting a lot of entertainment.

If you want good Vampire stories try Le Fanu's 'Carmilla' Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'Cristabel', and even Anne Rice's 'Vampire Cronicles', they are a lot better than this.

Thanks for ready my review.

Leave the classics alone!.......2004-06-03

Authors need to stop trying to cash in easy bucks and leave the classics alone.

We dont need prequels, sequels, or 'new adventures' of Dracula and Carmilla. How can you write dribble sequels on books a hundred years old anyway? Its a travesty.

Whats next? A mediocre author writting the continued adventures of Lord of the Rings?

Cover better than the book.......2003-01-30

The problem with this novel is one of characterization. Carmilla is not particularly interesting, and comes off as a run-of-the-mill movie vampire out on conquest. She is somewhat juvenile and one-dimensional. The protagonist is even worse, amost like a castmember of "friends."

Horror novels need to be scary. They need moments of dread, tension, and angst. Carmilla: The Return simply fails to create a spooky atmosphere, and instead degenerates into late-night soft-porn. Even the sex is poorly handled.

Please read the original Carmilla by LeFanu -an infinitely better book.

Carmilla - The Return.......2002-12-18

I think it is safe to say I did not enjoy this book. It was an abomination to the original by J. Sheridan Lefanu. The plot was in most places nonexistent, it seemed more like page after page of bad porn. There were serious plot gaps in the beginning which would in reality cause the 'return' to not even be possible. A major disappointment, I strongly warn against buying this book.

Superb- Better Than the Original.......2002-10-11

Suppose Carmilla didn't die as in LeFanu's clasic short story? Suppose she survived and has been around some 300 years. In Carmilla the Return, everyone's favorite lesbian vampire survives and murders the girl who stays with her uncle, the Colonel. The Colonel investigates the death of his sister's child as Carmilla seduces a Chicago department store worker. She follows her on her vacation to Michigan's upper peninsula where the girl, Laurn, has rekindled an old relationship with Steve Michaels. In time, Carmilla takes precandence over Steve, Lauren becomes a vampire, and the two move back to Carmilla's home in Austria. Can Steve, the Colonel, and Lauren's father intervene? Read and find out!

This book was a real page turner. As a fan of the original and Karstein Trilogy from Hammer Studios based on it, I approached this book with skepticism. Howver, the writer manages to pull off Carmilla in a modern setting brilliantly. You can grow to like Carmilla and don't feel sympathy for her victims. Lauren's vampirism is interesting, and leads to the conclusion. If you're a fan of the original, pick this up.

Average customer rating:

BEFORE DRACULA THERE WAS CARMILLA

Carmilla
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: Soft Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Vampyre: And Other Tales of the Macabre (Oxford World's Classics)

Uncle Silas (Penguin Classics)

The Lifted Veil: Brother Jacob (Oxford World's Classics)

In a Glass Darkly (Oxford World's Classics)

Melmoth the Wanderer (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 1843500728

Book Description

Living a lonely existence in a remote schloss in Styria, on the border of Austria and Hungary, Laura and her father play host to an unexpected guest, the beautiful young Carmilla. Her arrival is closely followed by an outbreak of unexplained deaths in the area, while the young women's growing friendship coincides with a series of nightmares and mysterious nocturnal visitations, and a gradual downward spiral in Laura's health. A chilling tale of the un-dead, Carmilla is a beautifully written example of the gothic genre. Believed to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker's gothic masterpiece 'Dracula', written over twenty years later, Carmilla stands out as an all-time horror classic.

Customer Reviews:

BEFORE DRACULA THERE WAS CARMILLA.......2004-02-06

J. Sheridan LeFanu's "Carmilla" stands as one of the richest, most literate and most enduring stories in the history of the vampire sub-genre. Many rate it higher than Bram Stoker's "Dracula," and while that estimation is at least debatable, there is no debate that "Carmilla" has exerted a mighty influence, consciously or not, on most vampire fiction to follow in its wake, "Dracula" not excepted. Indeed, Stoker's original early chapter in his masterpiece, later published independently as "Dracula's Guest," is particularly indebted to LeFanu's earlier work. As to which is better, let each reader decide for himself--and so enjoy them both!

The story is deceptively simple. A young girl, shaken up in a carriage accident, is left by her traveling mother in the care of the narrator's father. Laura, the young woman in whose voice we are told the tale, becomes fast friends with her new acquaintance, a friendship that is put to a powerful test when a strange malady begins infesting the idyllic Styrian countryside with nightmares, fever, and death.

LeFanu's style is unhurried, intelligent, and subtle, and the result is an eminently readable tale of mystery and the macabre that holds up remarkably well to repeated perusals. Though not as famous as "Dracula," and certainly written on a much smaller scale than Stoker's epic vampire opus, "Carmilla" is the more sustained and concentrated of the two. Many have traditionally argued that the novella, or short novel, is the ideal vehicle for a horror story, allowing for plenty of characterization and plot development without pushing the story itself beyond its dramtic limits. This reviewer tends to agree, and asserts that whereas "Dracula," masterwork that it is, often flags and succumbs to the doldrums, "Carmilla" never wavers and holds interest to the bittersweet end.

Customer Reviews:

Classic Horror Tales by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.......2004-07-19

J. Sheridan Le Fanu is a master of ghost and horror stories. His style is gothic. The protagonist might be a young woman without family and friends. The setting is lonely and isolated, often a decaying manor or castle. A growing sense of malice and evil emerges as the story unfolds. Le Fanu was able to transform this trite formula into remarkably suspenseful stories that haunt the reader long afterwards. All thirteen tales in this collection are enjoyable on many levels: suspenseful horror, well-crafted plots, and interesting characterizations.

Le Fanu's novels are noted for their leisurely pace, for their wordy and discursive style. His short stories are tighter, but still reflect Le Fanu's care in developing the setting and the atmosphere. I enjoy Le Fanu's antiquated style; it somehow adds verisimilitude to the accounts.

The Evil Guest, the longest story in this collection, is quite successful as a suspenseful mystery, but what makes it memorable is Le Fanu's description of one man's descent into evil and eventual insanity.

The Murdered Cousin is a traditional gothic story in which a young woman is entrusted to the care of an evil uncle. Le Fanu later expanded this tale into his most popular novel, Uncle Silas.

Schalken the Painter, Green Tea, Mr. Justice Harbottle, and Sir Dominick's Bargain are among his most admired stories and are frequently encountered in anthologies. Although superficially they share a common theme about demonic visitations, all four tales offer unique, imaginative aspects that make them classics. I find Schalken the Painter and Green Tea to be especially frightening. Mr. Justice Harbottle is a story of demonic retribution, retribution fully deserved. Sir Dominick's Bargain is a conventional tale of a pact with the devil, but one with an unexpected twist.

The title story Carmilla (1871) is ranked among the classic vampire stories, along with John Polidori's The Vampyre (1819) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). The relationship between the heroine and the female vampire is surprisingly complex, adding a dimension not found in most gothic characterizations.

Other stories in this collection include Ultor De Lacy, Wicked Captain Walshawe of Wauling, The White Cat of Drumgunniol, Madam Crowl's Ghost, Dickon the Devil, and Laura Silver Bell.

I reviewed a paperback edition (1996) published by Signet Classic. This inexpensive edition (446 pages) is a bargain.

shaken.......2000-06-03

I special ordered this book because I thought it would be really good. I read the reviews and some how got the impression that it was a sensual vampire story. It was a vampire story that dragged on a little to much. It was also vague, and not so sensual at all. I got the feeling that this story tried to capture the elegence of Dracula, but failed. I was shaken because I expected so much more.

An entertaining selection of Victorian ghost stories........1997-10-21

I liked this book, but probably not quite as LeFanu intended I ought. The majority of stories are ghost tales, longer and less punchy but more engrossing than those of M.R. James, but with a very similar atmosphere. Most striking is Carmilla, an amusing Gothic story about a female vampire and her relationship with the narrator, her innocent girlfriend. Modern times have robbed the story of much of its horror, and Carmilla becomes as much an object of sympathy as a pure villain - a fact that raises new questions rather than weakening the tale. Like Gormenghast, it is easy to dismiss such writing as plain silly - much of the story IS rather daft - but the charm of the stories remains, provided that the reader enters into the spirit of the book. LeFanu's style is not great - he is rather wordy and his prose a bit "purple", but the meticulous construction of his stories makes them worth reading as exercises in plot alone. His clear love of the atmosphere he builds shows through, and it is refreshing to find a book in which the gothic is not played for laughs. Overall, this is a pleasing collection of stories with a few real highlights. Its atmosphere and style inevitably mean that it will not have much appeal to many people, but fans of the macabre and antiquated will find it a worthwhile purchase. Like Stoker's Dracula or a good Hammer film, it is highly entertaining, simultaneously chilling and slightly camp.

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