THE VAMPYRE!
John William Polidori - creator of the literary vampyre!
By Marino Dalborra
The novella entitled, The Vampyre - A Tale, was published in 1819 and caused a sensation in England and across Europe by virtue of its complete transformation of the old Eastern legends.
It shocked readers by telling them of a vampire that socialised in the ballrooms of Georgian London and chose its victim from among the young lady debutants!
The vampire mythology up until this novella was published was all about hideous animated corpses rising from the grave to torment their close relatives.
The author of this novella was a young, handsome Anglo-Italian, John William Polidori, M.D. (Medical Doctor) (born 1795 died 1821). The novella was wildly successful and readers believed it to be a true tale! The novella's influence continues in the present age with its depiction of the evil Lord Ruthven resonnating in tv vampire series and on the movie screens.
Franklin Charles Bishop spent a decade researching and revealing many letters and documents relating to Polidori and his creation of this stunning novella and the result is his book entitled, 'The Vampyre and other writings of John William Polidori' published by Fyfield Press with the aid of The Arts Council. The book received a favourable review in The Times Literary Supplement and is regarded as the standard reference work regarding John William Polidori and his literary works. The book contains letters previously unpublished and untranslated and offers a fascinating and essential ground breaking work that illuminates the origins of the now familiar vampiric figure still very much to the fore in literature, tv, theatre and movies.