One of the most interesting phenomena in the history of literature, the Gothic novel — which flourished from about 1765 to 1825 — still has much to offer to the modern reader. Supernatural thrills, adventure and suspense, colorful settings, and, in the better examples, literary quality are all present. Unfortunately, true Gothic novels (not simply modern detective stories called "Gothic") are extremely rare books, and have never been as available as they should be.The first member in this collection, Horace Walpole's TheCastle of Otranto, published as a Christmas book for 1764, was the first and one of the greatest members of the genre. It has also been one of the most influential books in history. It motivated the Gothic revival in the arts, and it probably did more to usher in the early-19th-century Romanticism than any other single work. It also served as the model in plot, characterizations, settings, and tone for hundreds, perhaps thousands of successors.Vathek, by the eccentric British millionaire William Beckford, is generally considered to be the high point of the Oriental tale in English literature. Certainly no one has ever written (in any European tongue) a story which better unifies the stirrings of Gothic romanticism with the color, poetry, and vivacity of the original Arabian Nights.The third novel in this collection, John Polidor's Vampyre, emerged from the same soirées of ghost-story telling in Geneva that produced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The first full-length vampire story in English, it initiated a very important literary chain that also leads up to the present. Included with Polidori's novel is Lord Byron's little-known Fragment, from which Polidori (who was Byron's physician in Switzerland) plagiarized his plot.These three novels (and the fragment) are still well worth reading. Generations of readers have found thrills and horrors in Walpole's fine work, while Vathek cannot be excelled in its unusual mixture of the bizarre, cruel irony, and masterful narration. Polidori's thriller still conveys chills, and the Fragment makes us all wish that Byron had completed his novel.

Three Gothic Novels: The Castle of Otranto, Vathek, The Vampyre

Literature & Fiction

E.F. Bleiler

Horace Walpole

William, Beckford

John, Polidori

Genre Fiction

Dover `

"The Vampyre" was the first vampire story in English prose, and as such had a wide-ranging influence, almost singlehandedly creating the now-popular image of the vampire as an aristocratic seducer. The story follows a young Englishman, Aubrey, traveling companion to the older Lord Ruthven. They travel to Rome together, but Aubrey is advised that his companion might have some evil lurking beneath his surface. He warns off a woman who might have become a victim of Ruthven's seduction and heads off on his own to Greece. There he falls in love with Ianthe, a Greek peasant from whom he learns the superstitions about vampires; but before their relationship can develop, Ianthe is killed by a vampire and Aubrey is attacked while trying to save her.

Vampyre

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

An anthology award finalist in the International Book Awards, this collection unleashes the greatest early vampire tales in the English language. Unearthed from long forgotten journals and magazines, Andrew Barger has found the very best vampire short stories from the first half of the 19th century. They are collected for the first time in this groundbreaking book on the origins of vampire lore. The cradle of all vampire short stories in the English language is the first half of the 19th century. Andrew Barger combed forgotten journals and mysterious texts to collect the very best vintage vampire stories from this crucial period in vampire literature. In doing so, Andrew unearthed the second and third vampire stories originally published in the English language, neither printed since their first publication nearly 200 years ago. Also included is the first vampire story originally written in English by John Polidori after a dare with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley. The book contains the first vampire story by an American who was a graduate of Columbia Law School. The book further includes the first vampire stories by an Englishman and German, including the only vampire stories by such renowned authors as Alexander Dumas, Théophile Gautier and Joseph le Fanu. As readers have come to expect from Andrew, he has added his scholarly touch to this collection by including story backgrounds, annotations, author photos and a foreword titled "With Teeth." The ground-breaking stories are: 1819 The Vampyre - John Polidori (1795-1821) 1823 Wake Not the Dead - Ernst Raupach (1784-1852) 1848 The Vampire of the Carpathian Mountains - Alexander Dumas (1802-1870) 1839 Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter - Joseph le Fanu (1814-1873) 1826 Pepopukin in Corsica - Arthur Young (1741-1820) 1819 The Black Vampyre: A Legend of Saint Domingo - Robert C. Sands (1799-1832) 1836 Clarimonde - Théophile Gautier (1811-1872)

The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849

Le Fanu, Joseph

Bottletree Books Llc

The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Vampire Anthology (Best Short Stories 1800-1849)

Bottletree Books

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Books by John, Polidori