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A review by mal_eficent
The Vampyre; A Tale by John William Polidori
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is certainly one of those classics that's more interesting for the story around its publication and the groundwork it lay for vampire stories as a whole than its literary merit.
Coming from the same trip to the Villa Diodati between Byron, Mary and Percy Shelley, and Claire Clairmont that inspired Frankenstein (and originally attributed to Byron), the story went on to inspire plays and operas in its heyday, feature in Dumas' The Count of Monte Christo, and be cited as an inspiration for Stoker's Dracula. It's now considered vampire 'canon' and its type of vampire has gone on to be the standard we're now trying to break away from. I'm not sure how, though, as Polidori is not the best writer.
The gothic horror elements were all enjoyable, and the actual plot was interesting, but the writing was clunky at best, and some of the phrasing was just difficult to understand. Despite being incredibly short I had to reread sections to figure out what the sentence actually meant more than once.
I honestly wouldn't recommend this as casual reading unless you're trying to make your way through vampires classics just to see what they're like.
Coming from the same trip to the Villa Diodati between Byron, Mary and Percy Shelley, and Claire Clairmont that inspired Frankenstein (and originally attributed to Byron), the story went on to inspire plays and operas in its heyday, feature in Dumas' The Count of Monte Christo, and be cited as an inspiration for Stoker's Dracula. It's now considered vampire 'canon' and its type of vampire has gone on to be the standard we're now trying to break away from. I'm not sure how, though, as Polidori is not the best writer.
The gothic horror elements were all enjoyable, and the actual plot was interesting, but the writing was clunky at best, and some of the phrasing was just difficult to understand. Despite being incredibly short I had to reread sections to figure out what the sentence actually meant more than once.
I honestly wouldn't recommend this as casual reading unless you're trying to make your way through vampires classics just to see what they're like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder