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In the Shadow of Dracula
As popular and influential as Bram Stoker's classic tale of nocturnal menace is, this 1897 novel did not invent vampire fiction, nor was it alone in feeding the Gothic fantasies of the Victorian period. IDW Publishing presents an expertly selected menu of outstanding vampire stories that either informed or benefited from Bram Stoker's hugely popular creation. These eerie tales of the undead - some 22 in all - form the core cannon of classic vampire literature. Chosen and introduced by celebrated literary scholar and author Leslie S. Klinger (The New Annotated Dracula), with illustrations by an array of noted horror artists, In the Shadow of Dracula brings to adventuresome readers stories of nocturnal terror that have lived in Stoker's shadow for too long. Authors include M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, and Bram Stoker himself. Included are what's considered the first true vampire story 1816, as well the classic novella Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, the first vampire tale with a lesbian theme (it's been adapted to comics and film several times), and "The Family of the Vourdalak" by Aleksei Tolstoy (he's the cousin of the famous one), which gave Boris Karloff one of his greatest roles.
432 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2011
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181 people want to read
About the author
John William Polidori
380 books164 followersJohn William Polidori was an Italian English physician and writer, known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction.
Polidori was the oldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and Anna Maria Pierce, a governess. He had three brothers and four sisters.
He was one of the earliest pupils at recently established Ampleforth College from 1804, and in 1810 went up to the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote a thesis on sleepwalking and received his degree as a doctor of medicine on 1 August 1815 at the age of 19.
In 1816 Dr. Polidori entered Lord Byron's service as his personal physician, and accompanied Byron on a trip through Europe. At the Villa Diodati, a house Byron rented by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the pair met with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, and her husband-to-be, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their companion (Mary's stepsister) Claire Clairmont.
One night in June, after the company had read aloud from the Tales of the Dead, a collection of horror tales, Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley worked on a tale that would later evolve into Frankenstein. Byron wrote (and quickly abandoned) a fragment of a story, which Polidori used later as the basis for his own tale, The Vampyre, the first vampire story published in English.
Rather than use the crude, bestial vampire of folklore as a basis for his story, Polidori based his character on Byron. Polidori named the character "Lord Ruthven" as a joke. The name was originally used in Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon, in which a thinly-disguised Byron figure was also named Lord Ruthven.
Polidori's Lord Ruthven was not only the first vampire in English fiction, but was also the first fictional vampire in the form we recognize today—an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society.
Dismissed by Byron, Polidori travelled in Italy and then returned to England. His story, "The Vampyre", was published in the April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine without his permission. Whilst in London he lived and died in Great Pulteney Street (Soho). Much to both his and Byron's chagrin, "The Vampyre" was released as a new work by Byron. Byron even released his own Fragment of a Novel in an attempt to clear up the mess, but, for better or worse, "The Vampyre" continued to be attributed to him.
His long, Byron-influenced theological poem The Fall of the Angels, was published anonymously in 1821.
He died in August 1821, weighed down by depression and gambling debts. Despite strong evidence that he committed suicide by means of prussic acid, the coroner gave a verdict of death by natural causes.
His sister Frances Polidori married exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and so John is the uncle of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, though they were born after his death.
His sister Charlotte made a transcription of his Diaries, but censored "peccant passages" and destroyed the original. Based only on the transcripton, The Diary of John Polidori was edited by William Michael Rossetti and first published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews (London). A reprint of this book, The diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, relating to Byron, Shelley, etc was published by Folcroft Library Editions (Folcroft, Pa.) in 1975. Another reprint by the same title was printed by Norwood Editions (Norwood, Pa.) in 1978.
A number of films have depicted John Polidori and the genesis of the Frankenstein and "Vampyre" stories in 1816: Gothic directed by Ken Russell (1986), Haunted Summer directed by Ivan Passer (1988) and Remando al viento (English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez (1988). He also appears as a minor and unsympathetic character in the Tim Powers horror novel The Stress o
Polidori was the oldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and Anna Maria Pierce, a governess. He had three brothers and four sisters.
He was one of the earliest pupils at recently established Ampleforth College from 1804, and in 1810 went up to the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote a thesis on sleepwalking and received his degree as a doctor of medicine on 1 August 1815 at the age of 19.
In 1816 Dr. Polidori entered Lord Byron's service as his personal physician, and accompanied Byron on a trip through Europe. At the Villa Diodati, a house Byron rented by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the pair met with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, and her husband-to-be, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their companion (Mary's stepsister) Claire Clairmont.
One night in June, after the company had read aloud from the Tales of the Dead, a collection of horror tales, Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley worked on a tale that would later evolve into Frankenstein. Byron wrote (and quickly abandoned) a fragment of a story, which Polidori used later as the basis for his own tale, The Vampyre, the first vampire story published in English.
Rather than use the crude, bestial vampire of folklore as a basis for his story, Polidori based his character on Byron. Polidori named the character "Lord Ruthven" as a joke. The name was originally used in Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon, in which a thinly-disguised Byron figure was also named Lord Ruthven.
Polidori's Lord Ruthven was not only the first vampire in English fiction, but was also the first fictional vampire in the form we recognize today—an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society.
Dismissed by Byron, Polidori travelled in Italy and then returned to England. His story, "The Vampyre", was published in the April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine without his permission. Whilst in London he lived and died in Great Pulteney Street (Soho). Much to both his and Byron's chagrin, "The Vampyre" was released as a new work by Byron. Byron even released his own Fragment of a Novel in an attempt to clear up the mess, but, for better or worse, "The Vampyre" continued to be attributed to him.
His long, Byron-influenced theological poem The Fall of the Angels, was published anonymously in 1821.
He died in August 1821, weighed down by depression and gambling debts. Despite strong evidence that he committed suicide by means of prussic acid, the coroner gave a verdict of death by natural causes.
His sister Frances Polidori married exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and so John is the uncle of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, though they were born after his death.
His sister Charlotte made a transcription of his Diaries, but censored "peccant passages" and destroyed the original. Based only on the transcripton, The Diary of John Polidori was edited by William Michael Rossetti and first published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews (London). A reprint of this book, The diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, relating to Byron, Shelley, etc was published by Folcroft Library Editions (Folcroft, Pa.) in 1975. Another reprint by the same title was printed by Norwood Editions (Norwood, Pa.) in 1978.
A number of films have depicted John Polidori and the genesis of the Frankenstein and "Vampyre" stories in 1816: Gothic directed by Ken Russell (1986), Haunted Summer directed by Ivan Passer (1988) and Remando al viento (English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez (1988). He also appears as a minor and unsympathetic character in the Tim Powers horror novel The Stress o
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 5, 2017
Enough short Victorian vampire fiction for almost anyone.
October 16, 2012
I found this hidden in the graphic novel section of my library, unloved and unloaned. I rectified that, and was surprised to find that this was not a graphic novel despite being published by IDW - it's actually a very well thought out and illustrated collection of early vampire stories written before 1915. It contains the well known, such as Polidori and Le Fanu, and some less well known gems including Tieck and Nisbet that I'd never read before.
This is an excellent companion anthology to sit alongside works such as Dracula, there are some cute footnotes and each author has a short biog. The illustrations are in graphic novel style and are dark and brooding.
Unfortunately all library loans must come to an end, so now I've had to buy it because my bookshelves were pining for it. Highly recommended for those with an interest in early vampire literature, and considering the range of stories within it, I think it's an excellent price for such a well presented and thoughtful book.
This is an excellent companion anthology to sit alongside works such as Dracula, there are some cute footnotes and each author has a short biog. The illustrations are in graphic novel style and are dark and brooding.
Unfortunately all library loans must come to an end, so now I've had to buy it because my bookshelves were pining for it. Highly recommended for those with an interest in early vampire literature, and considering the range of stories within it, I think it's an excellent price for such a well presented and thoughtful book.
October 31, 2021
Excellently selected collection of vampire stories written between 1816 and 1914, including many famous early works of the genre (Le Fanu's "Carmilla," Rymer's "Varney the Vampire," and Polidori's "The Vampyre," as well as many less well known ones. The vampires cover a wide range of types with different powers and vulnerabilities (Stoker seems to have used pretty much ALL of them in his novel), as well as different origins. All are supernatural with the exception of Braddon's "Good Lady Ducayne," which is a detective story of medical vampirism (possibly inspired by the legends of Countess Bathory). In most of these tales, the POV is of someone who knows nothing of vampires, gradually discovers that something sinister is happening, and then has to act (with varying degrees of success) to defeat the menace. Some exceptions are "Varney the Vampire," which is written from the monster's point of view, and "Tomb of Sarah," where the author is already an experienced vampire hunter. Also included in this book are Stoker's "Dracula's Guest" and Tolstoy's (not the famous one) "The Family of Vourdalak" which inspires the Boris Karloff movie Black Sabbath. Based on the author's choices I'd give this 4-5 stars (top notch), but since many of these stories are of the "gothic horror" genre, the writing style of many of the authors started o wear on my after a while, forcing me to take a break between stories. 3.5 stars.
September 17, 2013
I've formed quite an affection for classic horror short stories and this is one of the best collections I've found. It anthologizes 22 stories from the first century of vampire fiction. Highlights include F. Marion Crawford's "For the Blood Is the Life" (one of my favorite horror stories), his sister Anne Crawford's "A Mystery of the Campagna", M.R. James' "Count Magnus", E.F. Benson's eerie "The Room in the Tower", and J. Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla", probably the second-most influential vampire story in English and the basis for several films (most notably Roger Vadim's "Blood and Roses" and Hammer Films' "The Vampire Lovers").
Even the weaker stories are interesting for their contribution to the development of the vampire myth. These include John Polidori's "The Vampyre," the first important English-language vampire story and product of the same challenge that produced Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." Also included is the first chapter of James Malcom Rymer's massive (667,000 words!)vampire novel, "Varney the Vampyre" which was originally serialized in cheap pamphlet form over a two-year period and was tremendously popular.
Despite the fact that the purpose of this collection is to highlight the writers who were overshadowed by Bram Stoker, Stoker himself is represented with "Dracula's Guest," apparently intended, but not used, as a chapter of "Dracula." Lord Byron's unfinished contribution to the famous horror story writing contest with Polidori and the Shelleys is here as well under the title "Fragment of a Novel."
Leslie S. Klinger's general introduction, as well as his author introductions and footnotes really add to the understanding of these stories and their place in the vampire canon. For fans of vampires or classic horror fiction, I really cannot recommend this volume enough.
Even the weaker stories are interesting for their contribution to the development of the vampire myth. These include John Polidori's "The Vampyre," the first important English-language vampire story and product of the same challenge that produced Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." Also included is the first chapter of James Malcom Rymer's massive (667,000 words!)vampire novel, "Varney the Vampyre" which was originally serialized in cheap pamphlet form over a two-year period and was tremendously popular.
Despite the fact that the purpose of this collection is to highlight the writers who were overshadowed by Bram Stoker, Stoker himself is represented with "Dracula's Guest," apparently intended, but not used, as a chapter of "Dracula." Lord Byron's unfinished contribution to the famous horror story writing contest with Polidori and the Shelleys is here as well under the title "Fragment of a Novel."
Leslie S. Klinger's general introduction, as well as his author introductions and footnotes really add to the understanding of these stories and their place in the vampire canon. For fans of vampires or classic horror fiction, I really cannot recommend this volume enough.
September 13, 2018
4.5 si me pongo quisquillosa.
Muchos relatos "En la Sombra de Drácula", como otra gente (incluidos los editores) han comentado antes, el libro es un compilado que permite introducirse un poco a la literatura victoriana (y los relatos de vampiros).
Había un par que había leído antes (como Carmilla) y otros que no tenía la menor idea de que existían. Unos fueron entretenidos y otros más bien tediosos en algunos momentos.
Lo unico que no me gustó fue el formato. Me demoré mucho en leerlo (enero hasta ahora) porque su tamaño es genial para exhibición pero pésimo para el transporte, y el texto está en dos columnas, así que la lectura en sí a veces se me hizo más lenta.
Sobre que la edición está en inglés, no lo recomendaría para alguien que no tiene ya un par de libros en este idiomas leídos de antes.
Muchos relatos "En la Sombra de Drácula", como otra gente (incluidos los editores) han comentado antes, el libro es un compilado que permite introducirse un poco a la literatura victoriana (y los relatos de vampiros).
Había un par que había leído antes (como Carmilla) y otros que no tenía la menor idea de que existían. Unos fueron entretenidos y otros más bien tediosos en algunos momentos.
Lo unico que no me gustó fue el formato. Me demoré mucho en leerlo (enero hasta ahora) porque su tamaño es genial para exhibición pero pésimo para el transporte, y el texto está en dos columnas, así que la lectura en sí a veces se me hizo más lenta.
Sobre que la edición está en inglés, no lo recomendaría para alguien que no tiene ya un par de libros en este idiomas leídos de antes.
October 20, 2022
This is a collection of vampire fiction short stories all written around the time Dracula was published. Basically, this is an overview of the good stories that Dracula overshadowed, hence the title.
I've read some of these stories before, but some were new. There's something creepier about stories written over a hundred years ago that some modern stories can't match. I think stories would have been much more scary back in the days when everything hadn't been debunked yet.
Overall this was a good collection of gothic style vampire stories. If you think you'll like it, you probably will. Great Halloween reading!
I've read some of these stories before, but some were new. There's something creepier about stories written over a hundred years ago that some modern stories can't match. I think stories would have been much more scary back in the days when everything hadn't been debunked yet.
Overall this was a good collection of gothic style vampire stories. If you think you'll like it, you probably will. Great Halloween reading!
August 3, 2022
A few good ones in here
August 1, 2023
This excellent compendium tracks the story of Dracula through its many iterations from the likely origin story through modern day interpretations. The research and descriptions are superb.
November 9, 2011
"In the Shadow of Dracula" is an entertaining introduction to gothic literature. It's aimed primarily at readers who are not familiar with Victorian literature but it is a fun, atmospheric read for those who are already Gaslight-era enthusiasts . There are no sparkly vampires here—any glitter comes from the fires of hell. The editor has included the first "official" vampire story, written in the early 19th c. by John Polidori following that fateful rainy summer in Switzerland that inspired Mary Wollstonecraft to write "Frankenstein"; an excerpt from the penny dreadful "Varney the Vampire"; Sheridan le Fanu's "Carmilla"; M.R. James' "Count Magnus"; and a broad selection of other well-known and less familiar revenant-themed stories. Some of the language and punctuation has been "updated," which may annoy purists but didn't bother me a bit. Each author is introduced with a brief and always interesting biographical sketch, and the editor has provided a scattering of footnotes to clarify the text. A handful of illustrations accompany the text. some add atmosphere, others look like the artist slapped them together in a hurry at the last minute. This book would be a five star effort, even with the lackluster illustrations, except for an abysmal lack of proofreading—howlers include "woman's" instead of "women's" and "fort," in place of "forty," which is distracting at best and bewildering at worst.
December 16, 2014
Wonderful and well thought out anthology of gothic literature. Moody and just plain fun to read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews