John William Polidori (1795–1821)

I recently guided my Victorian Lit class through a reading of *Carmilla." I read it years ago and on this re-reading found it richer than I'd understood on my first reading. Imagine the Victorians' horror not so much at the ways of the vampire, but at the female power and solidarity displayed in these pages. The story starts slowly, moving as languidly as Carmilla herself, but builds to a more lively pace with a classically inconclusive ending. I highly recommend it. Also, if you're show more interested in *Dracula*, read *Carmilla* as its precursor. Stoker wrests the power away from the women and puts it firmly back in the hands of the men--a thoroughly Victorian move. show less

i enjoyed this! aubrey's naivete and ruthven's eagerness to capitalize on it makes for some delicious character dynamics. plus the inherent homoeroticism of a vampire and his companion

I am very glad I Polidori's "The Vampyre". (It is available as a free download through Gutenberg.) Polidori was not a writer by profession & it shows; however, reading from the historical context (that it was written the same time/place/event where Frankenstein was written) & the fact that it was the first vampire story written in English make it pretty interesting. Common opinion is that Lord Ruthven (the vampire in the story) is a thinly veiled version of Lord Byron (Polidori's boss). I show more find it quite amusing that Polidori created a cunning, charismatic entity of pure evil that's based off of Lord Byron (the gossip page star of his day). These days, if someone wants to complain about his boss, he posts a rant on FB or something. I think Polidori's way is much classier (and long-lasting), lol. I'd love to know what Byron thought of it. If he was even partly as evil as Lord Ruthven is, I think Byron must have taken a certain amount of gleeful pride in being the basis for such a magnetic devil. ;-) Either way, read it for the historical aspect, especially if you have or plan to read Dracula or other vampire-inspired tales. show less

Far from being a literary masterpiece, this short story by Polidori (published in 1819) is only notable for being the first true vampire story in the English language and perhaps for its satire on Lord Byron as the villainous female seducer and killer Lord Ruthven.

It was, however, highly influential triggering variants of the 'meme' across Europe as well as setting the tone for the classic vampire tale which has aristocratic evil stalking the innocent in order to rejuvenate and continue show more living.

The story owes a little to Byron insofar as the latter began a similar tale apparently written in 1816 at the Villa Deodati with Polidori present (as well as the Shelleys). This was released as a fragment in 1819 but the story is fundamentally Polidori's as far as its development is concerned.

Polidori was only 21 when he arrived at Villa Deodati on Lake Geneva as companion to Byron but he was clearly of difficult temperament and the two did not get on. This may explain the desire to satirise his erstwhile patron but the central point is that horror starts its journey amongst the very young.

In 1819, Mary Shelley was only 19 when she 'invented' Frankenstein. Matthew Lewis was only 21 when he wrote 'The Monk'. William Beckford was quite old at 26 when he wrote 'Vathek'. The problem is that, even at this young age, they could all write well. Polidori is less proficient.

Still, the sense of evil in the story is palpable. The gaps in the narrative create, possibly accidentally, some sense of mystery. The ending is courageous enough not to be a happy one. And accounts of his time at the Villa suggest that he was an intellectual trigger for Mary Shelley's tale.

Polidori died in 1821 (aged 26), probably but not certainly of suicide, suffering from depression and with significant gambling debts. He was uncle 'post mortem' of the Rossetti children. However, one suspects that he would never have had an illustrious literary career based on this particular story. show less