The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre

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John Polidori Robert Morrison (Associate Professor of English, Associate Professor of English, Acadia University, Canada)

The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre

John Polidori, Robert Morrison (Associate Professor of English, Associate Professor of English, Acadia University, Canada), Chris Baldick (Head of English, Head of English, Goldsmith's College, University of London)

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English

Oxford University Press
11 September 2008

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Classic fiction (pre c 1945); Classic horror & ghost stories

Series: Oxford World's Classics

"`Upon her neck and breast was blood, and upon her throat were the marks of teeth having opened the vein: - to this the men pointed, crying, simultaneously struck with horror, ""a Vampyre, a Vampyre!""'

John Polidori's classic tale of the vampyre was a product of the same ghost-story competition that produced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Set in Italy, Greece, and London, Polidori's tales is a reaction to the dominating presence of his employer Lord Byron, and transformed the figure of the vampire from the bestial ghoul of earlier mythologies into the glamorous aristocrat whose violence and sexual allure make him literally a 'lady-killer'. Polidori's tale introduced the vampire into English fiction, and launched a vampire craze that has never subsided.

`The Vampyre' was first published in 1819 in the London New Monthly Magazine.

The present volume selects thirteen other tales of the macabre first published in the leading London and Dublin magazines between 1819 and 1838, including Edward Bulwer's chilling account of the doppelganger, Letitia Landon's elegant reworking of the Gothic romance, William Carleton's terrifying description of an actual lynching, and James Hogg's ghoulish exploitation of the cholera epidemic of 1831-2.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more."

By: John Polidori
Edited by: Robert Morrison (Associate Professor of English Associate Professor of English Acadia University Canada), Chris Baldick (Head of English, Head of English, Goldsmith's College, University of London)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 195mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 225g
ISBN: 9780199552412
ISBN 10: 019955241X
Series: Oxford World's Classics
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 11 September 2008
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre

Moving effortlessly from folklore to melodrama, the Introduction assesses the position that Polidori's story . . . We may not be ableto recover the experience of the origianl readers, but we can be grateful to the editors for bringing back to life tales that are not only of academic interest but which still exert their own nightmarish fascination * Studies in Hogg and his World * I enjoyed the collection very much, and recommend it as a good mix of stories that are a little different from the norm. * FictionFan *