Reviews

The Vampyre by John William Polidori

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sarahbc93_'s review against another edition

3.0

There was a review I saw before said that this is one of those pieces of literature where the story behind the work was more interesting than the actual work, and I have to agree with that sentiment.

While I enjoy Vampire stories, especially the older more classic stories, this one was just a little lacklustre which could be put down to the fact that it is a short story, so there isn’t as much room for embellishment.

It could have been a lot better if it was just slightly longer, and if the story had just been expanded on slightly.

Definitely think that Mary Shelley was the winner of the writing contest with her, Byron, Polidori and her husband. What a woman.

mlou_'s review against another edition

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3.0

2.5* Appreciate what this did for the modern vampire but meh

hazamelis's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Vampyre is a funny story because everyting surrounding it is more interesting than the tale itself. First, some people met in June of 1816 and they said, hey let's make a ghost story. From that challenge came this and uh... Frankenstein. Apparently. Vampiric lore had existed already from long ago but it was a bit different and it seems that this was the tale that turned the vampire into a classy aristocrat, one trope we all really like since you can add lots of layers to it.

It's all narration really, nothing ever gets shown to you, it's all told, there is barely any dialogue from the characters themselves, it's all the narrator. The story basically is (spoilers)

the protagonist finds a guy, he discovers he is sketchy with women... and a vampire, and then he is tricked into make an oath to not saying anything about it for a year, and then the vampire marries and kills his sister because he is unable to say anything... because of his oath.

Anyway! Enough of the story, and let's get into the interesting bits. Read the wikipedia page.

"Whether Polidori wrote 'The Vampyre' out of spite toward Byron or not, whether he is guilty of a measure of plagiarism, or whether he even intended to have the story published or not, the tale energizes a series of figurations of the vampire in what is now over two centuries long tradition of vampire prose fiction."

-Jan Čapek

Oh my my, what do we have here? Do you see that? Polidori wrote out of spite toward Byron, what does that mean? The version of the story I found had two letters, one at the beginning he talks about finding Lord Byron, and then at the end where he defends him and talks about his good deeds towards the Greek people. It really does not seem like Polidori hated Byron, and also, plagiarism? Where did that even come from?

Okay so here is the thing, it seems that Byron wrote a story, and then Polidori said that story was the idea for his. Polidori wrote a letter to the editor explaining "that though the groundwork is certainly Lord Byron's, its development is mine" May 1, 1819. That, covers the plagiarism bit, but what is this thing about spite? I mean of course, in the letter it is mentioned how Lord Byron is a rather eccentric individual, and then in the story we have a villain that resembles his own demeanor. Do you know what I think? I think Polidori was obsessed.

"I do not assume a right to give an opinion. Reports are ever to be received with caution, particularly when directed against man’s moral integrity; and he who dares justify himself before that awful tribunal where all must appear, alone may censure the errors of a fellow-mortal. Lord Byron’s character is worthy of his genius. To do good in secret, and shun the world’s applause, is the surest testimony of a virtuous heart and self-approving conscience."

Polidori was enchanted with Lord Byron at first, but it seems that down the line things didn't go down so well. Polidori was Byron’s physician (something like a victorian doctor I think) and, unfortunately, found himself overshadowed by Byron. Apparently Byron had a sharp wit and little patience for Polidori’s aspirations. Yes yes, I have to read the other essays and sources about their relationship, but right now, those two letters and the tale is all the proof I need.

I have felt that too before, imagine someone you admire, someone with so many talents, and then this someone treats you like an inferior, wouldn't that hurt? The sense of inferiority, the feeling small, all these things I have felt very vividly, it causes rage and eats your soul, being told you are nothing by someone you admire is a lot more hurtful than being told the same thing by someone you hate. What did Polidori do? What did Polidori do? He wrote a fan fiction where Lord Byron was the only and true villain, a schemer and someone who sucks out the life of their victims, he used the same idea Lord Byron had for a tale, and turned it against him.

He didn't write it so the vampire was defeated, no, in the tale, the protagonist falls into madness and is unable to speak out loud what he is feeling, he has been completely controlled by his foe, and when he manages to speak up... it's too late, it's too late.

You poor lonely soul, just imagine how Polidori must have felt while working for him.

Now, we are talking about platonic admiration and intellectual rivalries and what not, but this is the kind of stories that a great gay fan fiction can come out of, maybe a whole book! Yes, a book! I have the ideas running through my head right now, but I have to stop that train of thought! I have to remember there is already a novel I am writing myself, maybe one day once I read the essays and other sources about their relationship, maybe when I get there, I might write it myself. I am leaving this post as a reminder, because I can feel it, I can feel everything outside the story very vividly.

While the story is a bit fast and even idealistic, I do have to say that the ending impacted me.

"The guardians hastened to protect Miss Aubrey; but when they arrived, it was too late. Lord Ruthven had disappeared, and Aubrey’s sister had glutted the thirst of a VAMPYRE!"
For a split second, just for a split second, that paragraph scared me. You know, bold letters, end of the line, end of the story, it is a catastrophic ending and it feels almost like a scream. After that second is over you say "no wait, that was stupid," but how you felt that split second, that you do not forget, we are just reading stories, there are no jump scares in this world, but in that moment when you are in the mind of the characters, you feel it, you feel the horror, and when the story ends, you meet with death. End of existence, that is really scary dude.

I think I want to replicate that kind of feeling, even if your reaction lasts for a split second, it is not something that you can easily forget. That is how you can plant ideas, that is what fiction is made from.

As Polidori and Byron, they both died sadly early, Byron in a war, and Polidori due to an apparent suicide, with the Vampyre being the biggest thing that came out of their relationship. So you know, maybe we don't have to be afraid of writing a revenge fan fiction about people we hate and look silly, we won't know when we will end up creating a brand new literary genre.

Content Warnings