The Vampyre: A Tale

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.

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.

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..

The book was good