Sheridan Le Fanu (1814–1873)
Author of Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale
About the Author
The greatest author of supernatural fiction during the nineteenth century was undoubtedly J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Le Fanu was born in Dublin and, as with so many other English popular fiction authors of his time, entered the genre of fiction by way of journalism, working on such publications as the show more Evening Mail and the Dublin University Magazine. Le Fanu came from a middle-class background; his family was of Huguenot descent. He graduated from Trinity College and married in 1844. After his wife died in 1858, until his own death, Le Fanu was known as a recluse, creating his ghost fiction late at night in bed. Probably he began writing ghost fiction in 1838; his earliest supernatural story is often cited as being either "The Ghost and the Bone-Setter" or the "Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh," both of which were later collected in the anthology entitled The Purcell Papers (1880). Writing most effectively in the short story form, Le Fanu's tales such as "Carmilla" (a vampire story that is thought possibly to have influenced Bram Stoker's Dracula) and the problematic "Green Tea" are considered by many literary scholars to be classics of the supernatural genre. His lengthy Gothic novels, such as Uncle Silas (1864), though less highly regarded than his shorter fiction, are nonetheless wonderfully atmospheric. Le Fanu's particular brand of literary horror tends toward the refined, subtle fright rather than the graphic sensationalism of Matthew Gregory Lewis. His work influenced other prominent horror fiction authors, including M. R. James. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Sheridan Le Fanu
The Forgotten Classics of Mystery Volume III - Sheridan le Fanu: The Diabolical Genius: Uncle Silas; The Inn of the… (1959) 15 copies
Two Ghostly Mysteries A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family; and the Murdered Cousin (2006) 12 copies
El fantasma y el ensalmador = The ghost and ten bone setter / el sueño del bebedor = The drunkard's dream (1999) 9 copies
The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Volume 1-Including Two Novels, 'The Haunted… (2010) 9 copies
Illustrated JS Le Fanu: Ghost Stories and Mysteries by a Master Victorian Storyteller (1988) 7 copies
The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of J. Sheridan le Fanu: Volume 2-Including One Novel, 'Uncle… (2010) 6 copies
The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Volume 3-Including One Novel 'The House by the… (2010) 6 copies
The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Volume 5-Including One Novel, 'The Rose and… (2010) 5 copies
Bibliotheca Dracula. 9 Romane in 3 Bänden: Frankenstein - Dracula - Im Haus des Grafen Dracula - Melmoth - Der… (1978) 5 copies
My Aunt Margaret's Adventure 4 copies
Carmilla. Based on the Story by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (Penguin Active Reading (Graded Readers)) (2011) 4 copies
Carmilla And Other Gothic Tales By Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu | Illustrated | Oversized Edition 4 copies
The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Volume 4-Including One Novel, 'The Wyvern Mystery,… (2010) 4 copies
Különös históriák 4 copies
Carmilla. A Vampira de Karnstein - Colecao Classicos da Literatura Universal (Em Portugues do Brasil) (2018) 4 copies
Squire Toby's Will 3 copies
The Best Victorian Ghost Stories: Annotated and Illustrated Tales of Murder, Mystery, Horror, and Hauntings (Oldstyle… (2014) 3 copies
Sir Dominick's Bargain 3 copies
Les créatures du miroir 2 copies
Carmilla, Green Tea, and Other Horrors: The Best Ghost Stories and Weird Fiction of J. Sheridan Le Fanu (Oldstyle Tales… (2016) 2 copies
Dom przy cmentarzu 2 copies
70 SUPERNATURAL TALES OF GOTHIC HORROR: Uncle Silas, Carmilla, In a Glass Darkly, Madam Crowl's Ghost, The House by the… (2017) 2 copies
A Little Fuchsia Book of Fears 2 copies
Carmilla: WITH Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess AND Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter (1872) 2 copies
LibriVox Ghost Story Collection 001 2 copies
Carmilla y otros relatos de terror (Selección clásicos universales) (Spanish Edition) (2017) 2 copies
The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh 2 copies
Les créatures du miroir 1 copy
Mr. Justice Harbottle 1 copy
The ghost and the bone-setter El fantasma y el ensalmador ; The drunkard's dream = El sueño del bebedor :… (2007) 1 copy
Guy Deverell v1 1 copy
Guy Deverell v2 1 copy
Tè verde. Tre racconti 1 copy
Schalken il pittore 1 copy
Dublin University magazine 1 copy
The Prelude 1 copy
Dom przy cmentarzu Tom II 1 copy
Historias de fantasmas 1 copy
In einem dunklen Spiegel 1 copy
Dom przy cmentarzu, T.I 1 copy
In a Glass Darkly, v. 2/3 1 copy
Mr Justice Harbottle 1 copy
Secret Histories 1 copy
Guy Deverell Volume III 1 copy
世界恐怖小說選 卷一: 怪誕懸疑的世界恐怖經典 1 copy
L'inseguitore 1 copy
El tío Silas 1 copy
Carmilla & O Juiz Harbottle 1 copy
Cuentos de fantasmas 1 copy
El tio Silas 1 copy
O Vampiro de Karnstein 1 copy
Nun vidro misterioso, vol. 2: O familiar, O xuíz Harbotte e Carmilla, unha historia de vampiros (2009) 1 copy
Un oscuro scrutare 1 copy
The Vampire Collection 1 copy
Night at the Dragon Inn 1 copy
Associated Works
Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural: A Treasury of Spellbinding Tales Old & New (1985) — Contributor — 526 copies
Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the 17th Century to the Present (1994) — Contributor — 448 copies
The Vampire Archives: The Most Complete Volume of Vampire Tales Ever Published (2009) — Contributor — 188 copies
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (2010) — Contributor — 150 copies
A Clutch of Vampires: These Being Among the Best from History and Literature (1929) — Contributor — 100 copies
The Book of Irish Weirdness: A Treasury of Classic Tales of the Supernatural, Spooky and Strange (1994) — Contributor — 96 copies
In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe: Classic Tales of Horror, 1816-1914 (2015) — Contributor — 91 copies
Great British Tales of Terror: Gothic Stories of Horror and Romance 1765-1840 (1972) — Contributor — 81 copies
The world of law; a treasury of great writing about and in the law, short stories, plays, essays, accounts, letters,… (1960) — Contributor — 54 copies
The Weiser Book of Horror and the Occult: Hidden Magic, Occult Truths, and the Stories That Started It All (2014) — Contributor — 38 copies
Great Ghost Stories: 34 Classic Tales of the Supernatural (2002) — Contributor; Contributor — 27 copies
The Weiser Book of Occult Detectives: 13 Stories of Supernatural Sleuthing (2017) — Contributor — 23 copies
Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Horror and Supernatural of the 19th Century (1983) — Contributor — 16 copies
Bewitched Beings: Phantoms, Familiars, and the Possessed in Stories from Two Centuries (1974) — Contributor — 14 copies
Masters of the Macabre: An Anthology of Mystery, Horror, and Detection (1975) — Contributor — 13 copies
Children of the Night: Stories of Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolves, and Lost Children (The Children of the Night) (1999) — Contributor — 11 copies
Great Classic Hauntings: Six Unabridged Stories (Audio Editions Mystery Masters) (2000) — Contributor, some editions — 11 copies
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction January 1957, Vol. 12, No. 1 (1957) — Contributor — 9 copies
Fear in the Blood: Tales from the Dark Lineages of the Weird: 48 (British Library Tales of the Weird) (2024) — Contributor — 6 copies
Tyve mesterfortællinger — Contributor, some editions — 4 copies
Spøgelseshistorier fra hele verden — Contributor, some editions — 3 copies
Weird Tales Volume 22 Number 1, July 1933 — Contributor — 3 copies
Reading & Training : Stories of ghosts and mystery [book + sound recording] (2008) — Writer — 2 copies
Supernatural Tales 1: The Haunted Ships (Allan Cunningham); Green Tea (Sheridan Le Fanu), Mrs Veal (Daniel Defoe) (1974) — Contributor — 1 copy
Classic Crime Collection - 10 Books RRP£70.91 (Lady Audley's Secret, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Raffles, Bleak… — Contributor — 1 copy
English short stories of the nineteenth century — Contributor — 1 copy
Vampire und Untote. Eine Anthologie von Vampir-Geschichten — Contributor — 1 copy
LibriVox Short Ghost and Horror Collection 035 — Contributor — 1 copy
Fantastyczne Opowieści — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Le Fanu, Sheridan
- Legal name
- Le Fanu, Joseph Thomas Sheridan
- Other names
- Le Fanu, J. S.
- Birthdate
- 1814-08-28
- Date of death
- 1873-02-07
- Burial location
- Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- Ireland
- Birthplace
- Dublin, Ireland
- Place of death
- Dublin, Ireland
- Cause of death
- heart attack
- Places of residence
- Dublin, Ireland
- Education
- Trinity College, Dublin (law)
- Occupations
- short-story writer
novelist
lawyer
journalist - Relationships
- Broughton, Rhoda (niece)
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley (great-uncle)
Sheridan, Frances (great-grandmother)
Lefanu, Alicia Sheridan (grandmother)
Sheridan, Betsy (great-aunt)
Norton, Caroline (second cousin) (show all 7)
Blackwood, Helen Selina Sheridan (second cousin) - Organizations
- Irish Bar (1839)
Members
Discussions
THE DEEP ONES: "Laura Silver Bell" by J. Sheridan Le Fanu in The Weird Tradition (April 2023)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Child That Went with the Fairies" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu in The Weird Tradition (January 2023)
THE DEEP ONES: "Green Tea" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu in The Weird Tradition (March 2022)
Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla in Gothic Literature (February 2019)
Reading Group #6: 'Green Tea' in Gothic Literature (December 2018)
THE DEEP ONES: "Carmilla" by J. Sheridan Le Fanu in The Weird Tradition (June 2017)
Reviews
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
I read this because I’m gay and I love vampires. Tbh it should be required reading for people who are gay and love vampires
Originally published in 1792, this is another example of the found documents device. By today's standards, this is probably not the most exciting book. However, within the historical context, this book is a great read and example of gothic literature. Also, at 159 pages it is a quick read.
How surprised I was, being passing familiar with Le Fanu's work, to find the mysteries so implied here to be entirely mundane , even with the twists and turns layering them with hints of the supernatural !
. . .I was not, surprised, however, with the turn that took our supposed hero as he continued on his lovestruck crusade. For all that I saw thescam, and nexus of crimes before it was revealed to him, the reveal was still quite interesting, as was the wrap up of the story entire.… (more)
. . .I was not, surprised, however, with the turn that took our supposed hero as he continued on his lovestruck crusade. For all that I saw the
One of the earlier English-language stories of vampires, Carmilla nevertheless lacks the lurid tones of many of those that followed. Dramatic, gothic, and smoothly characterised as what it purports to be - the account offered by a lady of her own experiences, representing the confusion, alarm, adoration, and waning that she suffered through, all the way to the dramatic conclusion, which is tragic in its own way, but lacking the melodrama or the specific type of tragedy so often present at the close of older vampire narratives.… (more)
Lists
Five star books (1)
horror (1)
Overdue Podcast (1)
Lucy's Long List (1)
Irish writers (1)
1860s (1)
Phoebe Bridgers (1)
Out of Copyright (1)
Autumn books (1)
Victorian Period (1)
Ghosts (2)
19th Century (2)
Romans (1)
Folio Society (1)
Favourite Books (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 276
- Also by
- 182
- Members
- 9,546
- Popularity
- #2,521
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 296
- ISBNs
- 957
- Languages
- 19
- Favorited
- 43
