Description
A Feast Of Blood And Horror In Varney The Vampire
Although most people are more accustomed to the modern-day fictionalized vampire, few people know that most of the legend and vampire tropes actually started in the mid 19th century with Varney the Vampire.
Written by Thomas Preskett Prest, Varney the Vampire is a serialized gothic horror story dating back to the Victorian era. The story appeared in cheap pamphlets which were known back then as penny dreadful. While it appeared in series between 1845 and 1847, in 1847 the full novel appeared, with an epic length of 876 pages and 220 chapters. With a whopping 667,000 words, this novel is one of the most extensive ones of the genre.
In the tale of Varney the Vampire, many of the modern vampire tropes were introduced, which are now easily recognizable by the modern audience. The setting of the story appears to be in the late 18th century, although the Napoleonic Wars are mentioned as well.
Varney is a sympathetic vampire who despises his condition. The work of Preskett Prest is the earliest account of a sympathetic vampire in fiction. He can live and act like a normal human, but when his energy levels run low he must feed. He spends a lot of time with and terrorizes the Bannerworth family, which has fallen on dark times.
Varney’s origin is ambiguous, as he might either be the result of a galvanization experiment on his hanging corpse by a student or he might have betrayed an Oliver Cromwell loyalist and murdered his very own child by mistake.
In a unique blend of macabre, humor and action, the sympathetic Varney manages to draw not only blood, but also the reader’s interest in the never ending tales of Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood.
Product ID: 9781775423263
Sku: 9781775423263
