Varney, the Vampyre, Vol. 2

Description

Published in series for two years, between 1845 and 1875 Varney, the Vampyre, Vol. 2, by Thomas Preskett Prest, is a book that has heavily influenced Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published half a century later, in 1897. The novel is very lengthy – it comprises over 667,000 words and it is organized in 232 chapters, that’s why it was made into three distinct volumes when it was first published in book form in 1847.

The story of the book features the adventures of Sir Francis Varney in numerous different locations, including Venice, Naples, London, Winchester and Bath. Most of the plot is about the relationship between Varney and the formerly wealthy Bannerworth family. The 96-chapter long second volume is, of course, the continuation of the first book and it starts when Bannerworth family is trying to flee their home, hoping to escape the troubles caused to them by Varney. Their attempt is not crowned by success – Varney keeps pursuing them and appearing in various disguises. However, the vampire’s life is not fun and games either – he needs blood to stay “alive” and his hunting trips are usually very dangerous, once he even gets chased by some village people who force Varney to run and jump on rooftops to escape them.

The story of Varney, the Vampyre brought the author fame in his time, but the story that made his name sound familiar in the 21st century as well is that of the demon barber Sweeney Todd in the novel entitled The String of Pearls. He did not write the well-known story all by himself – in fact, he was one of the two authors who created the character, the other one being the era’s other well-known writer of penny dreadful novels, James Malcolm Rymer. The two authors published the story in weekly series and they probably took turns writing the installments.
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