“The Vampyre: A Tale” by John William Polidori. London: Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, 1819. First edition.
“The Vampyre: A Tale” was first published in the New Monthly Magazine with the false attribution to Lord Byron as the author. Ownership was promptly denied by the poet who published, with Mazeppa, his own vampire fragment. “The Vampyre” originated at the same evening’s celebrated story-telling in the Villa Diodati in Geneva, which also produced Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” A spectacular success, “The Vampyre” went through five editions in 1819 alone and sold equally well in Europe where Byron’s denial of authorship was less well known. Although by no means the first vampire story, Polidori’s tale was the genesis of the modern vampire legend. Despite the success of his story, Polidori, Byron’s physician and always a troubled man, committed suicide less than two years later.
“The Vampyre: A Tale” by John William Polidori. London: Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, 1819. First edition.
“The Vampyre: A Tale” was first published in the New Monthly Magazine with the false attribution to Lord Byron as the author. Ownership was promptly denied by the poet who published, with Mazeppa, his own vampire fragment. “The Vampyre” originated at the same evening’s celebrated story-telling in the Villa Diodati in Geneva, which also produced Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” A spectacular success, “The Vampyre” went through five editions in 1819 alone and sold equally well in Europe where Byron’s denial of authorship was less well known. Although by no means the first vampire story, Polidori’s tale was the genesis of the modern vampire legend. Despite the success of his story, Polidori, Byron’s physician and always a troubled man, committed suicide less than two years later.