Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A comprehensive study of the vampire in nineteenth-century literature. The nineteenth-century vampire has been inadequately studied until now, being usually investigated as a precursor to twentieth- and twenty-first century fictions. On the contrary, this book studies the vampire of the nineteenth century free of any reference to later developments, exploring instead key topics such as: the origins of the vampire in Icelandic and other medieval European texts; issues of gender and sex; and, because the vampire is almost always treated solely as egotistical, maniacal, and animalistic, any instances of sympathy and mercy shown by nineteenth-century vampires.
By looking at earlier cultural roots of the fictional monster, this book offers a fresh understanding of how, why, and where the myth of the vampire came into being.
Synopsis
An entirely original look at the evolution of a cultural phenomenon. As John Edgar Browning puts it in his Foreword, "Vampires are pure culture, and culture needs 'diggers' like Kevin Dodd."