John Polidori's The Vampyre has, much like the author himself, been much neglected since it was first written in 1819. Yet in its pages lie the foundations for what has since become one of the most popular genres of English-language fiction: the vampire story. Before Edward Cullen or Angel, before Dracula or Count Orlock, before Camilla—and even before Varney—there was Lord Ruthven, a silent, seductive predator stalking among the unsuspecting members of human society.
Polidori's gripping tale of this ancient evil is notably also a satirical take on his own life and that of his former employer, the infamous Lord Byron. Composed in the midst of a fascinating time for English literature as...
