The Vampyre; A Tale

- By John William Polidori
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English writer and physician John PolidoriBorn(1795-09-07)7 September 1795Westminster, Great BritainDied24 August 1821(1821-08-24) (aged 25)St Pancras, LondonOccupation Writer Physician Alma materUniversity of EdinburghGenre Vampire horror ParentsGaetano PolidoriAnna Maria PierceRelativesFrances Polidori (sister) John William Polidori (7 September 1795 – 24 August 1821) was a British writer and physician. He is known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. His most successful work was the short story "The Vampyre" (1819), the first published modern vampire story. Although the story was at first erroneously credited to Lord Byron, both Byron and Polidori affirmed that the author was Polidori.[1] Family[edit] John William Polidori was born on 7 September 1795 in Westminster, the eldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and his wife Anna Maria Pierce, an English governess. He had three brothers and four sisters.[2] His sister Frances Polidori married the exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and thus Polidori, posthumously, became the uncle of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, and Christina Georgina Rossetti. William Michael Rossetti published Polidori's journal in 1911.[2] Biography[edit] Polidori was one of the earliest pupils at the recently established Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire from 1804. In 1810 he went up to the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote a thesis on sleepwalking and received his degree as a doctor of medicine on 1 August 1815, at the age of 19.[2] In 1816, which became known as the Year Without a Summer, Polidori entered Lord Byron's service as his personal physician and accompanied him on a trip through Europe. Publisher John Murray offered Polidori 500 English pounds to keep a diary of their travels, which Polidori's nephew William Michael Rossetti later edited. At the Villa Diodati, a house Byron rented by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the pair met with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, her husband-to-be, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their companion (Mary's stepsister) Claire Clairmont. One night in June after the company had read aloud from Fantasmagoriana, a French collection of German horror tales, Byron suggested they each write a ghost story. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote "A Fragment of a Ghost Story" and wrote down five ghost stories recounted by Matthew Gregory "Monk" Lewis, published posthumously as the Journal at Geneva (including ghost stories) and on Return to England, 1816, the journal entries beginning on 18 August 1816. Mary Shelley worked on a tale that would later evolve into Frankenstein.[3] Byron wrote (and quickly abandoned) a fragment of a story, "A Fragment", featuring the main character Augustus Darvell, which Polidori used later as the basis for his own tale, "The Vampyre", the first published modern vampire story in English.[4] Polidori's conversation with Percy Bysshe Shelley on 15 June 1816, as recounted in The Diary, is regarded as the origin or genesis of Frankenstein. They discussed "the nature of the principle of life": "June 15 - ... Shelley etc. came in the evening ... Afterwards, Shelley and I had a conversation about principles — whether man was to be thought merely an instrument."[5][6] Dismissed by Byron, Polidori travelled in Italy and then returned to England. His story, "The Vampyre", which featured the main character Lord Ruthven, was published in the April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine without his permission. Whilst in London he lived on Great Pulteney Street in Soho. Much to both his and Byron's chagrin, "The Vampyre" was released as a new work by Byron. Byron's own vampire story "Fragment of a Novel" or "A Fragment" was published in 1819 in an attempt to clear up the confusion, but, for better or worse, "The Vampyre" continued to be attributed to him.[2] Polidori's long, Byron-influenced theological poem The Fall of the Angels was published anonymously in 1821.[2] Death[edit] Polidori died at his father's London house on 24 August 1821, weighed down by depression and gambling debts. Despite conjecture from his family that he died by suicide by means of prussic acid, the coroner gave a verdict of death by natural causes.[7] Works[edit] Plays[edit] Cajetan, a play (1816) Boadicea, a play (1816) Poems[edit] Ximenes, the Wreath and Other Poems (1819)[8] The Fall of the Angels: A Sacred Poem (1821)[9] Novellas[edit] The Vampyre; A Tale, 1819 The Vampyre: A Tale (1819) - a text that is "often even cited as almost folkloric sources on vampirism".[10] Ernestus Berchtold; or, The Modern Oedipus: A Tale (1819) Non-fiction[edit] A Medical Inaugural Dissertation which deals with the disease called Oneirodynia, for the degree of Medical Doctor, Edinburgh (1815) The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori (1816, published posthumously in 1911) On the Punishment of Death (1816) An Essay Upon the Source of Positive Pleasure (1818) Sketches Illustrative of the Manners and Costumes of France, Switzerland and Italy (1821) Posthumous editions[edit] His sister Charlotte transcribed Polidori's diaries, but censored "peccant passages" and destroyed the original. Based only on the transcription, The Diary of John Polidori was edited by William Michael Rossetti and first published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews (London). Reprints of this book, The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, relating to Byron, Shelley, etc., was published by Folcroft Library Editions (Folcroft, PA) in 1975, and by Norwood Editions (Norwood, PA) in 1978. A new edition of The Diary of John William Polidori was reprinted by Cornell University in 2009.[11] Legacy[edit] Memorials[edit] A memorial plaque on Polidori's home at 38 Great Pulteney Street was unveiled on 15 July 1998 by the Italian Ambassador, Paolo Galli.[12] Appearances in other media[edit] Film[edit] Multiple films have depicted John Polidori, and the genesis of the Frankenstein and "Vampyre" stories in 1816: Gothic (1986), directed by Ken Russell, with Timothy Spall as Polidori Haunted Summer (1988), directed by Ivan Passer, with Alex Winter as Polidori Remando al viento (1988; English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez Mary Shelley (2017), directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour Additionally, Polidori's name was used for fictional characters in the following films: Frankenstein: The True Story (1973), a television movie featuring a character named Dr. Polidori Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020), a film featuring a character named Frank Polidori Literature[edit] Polidori appears as one of several minor characters killed off by Frankenstein's creature in Peter Ackroyd's novel The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein.[13] Polidori is a central character in Federico Andahazi's novel The Merciful Women (Las Piadosas in the original Argentine edition). In it, he receives The Vampyre written by the fictional character of Annette Legrand, in exchange for some "favours".[14] Polidori appears as a character in Howard Brenton's play Bloody Poetry (though for some reason Brenton calls him William.) Polidori is a prominent character and the catalyst in events in Brooklyn Ann's historical paranormal romance novel, Bite Me, Your Grace. Polidori is a central character in Emmanuel Carrère's 1984 novel Gothic Romance (Bravoure in the original French edition), which, amongst other things, presents a fictionalised account of the events of 1816. Polidori appears as a character in Susanna Clarke's novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Polidori appears as an enemy of Lord Byron (who is a vampire) in Tom Holland's novel Lord of the Dead. Polidori is also the 'hero' of the novel Imposture (2007) by Benjamin Markovits. Polidori is also the central character in Derek Marlowe's novel A Single Summer With L. B., which presents an account (fictionalised) of the summer of 1816. Polidori appears as a minor and unsympathetic character in the Tim Powers' horror novel The Stress of Her Regard (1989), in which Polidori does not write about vampires but becomes directly involved with them. In Powers' sequel (of sorts), Hide Me Among the Graves (2012), Polidori is a vampire and a central villain menacing the novel's protagonists, his nieces and nephews in the Rossetti family. Paul West's novel Lord Byron's Doctor (1989) is a recreation, and ribald fictionalization, of Polidori's diaries. West depicts him as a literary groupie whose attempts to emulate Byron eventually unhinge and destroy him.[citation needed] (2013): Polidori is a prominent character in P.J. Parker's internationally acclaimed historic fiction Fire on the Water: A Companion to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (2019): P.J. Parker's historic fiction Origin of the Vampyre pulls back the shroud of mystery surrounding the publication of Polidori's novel. (2011): In Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London and the other Peter Grant books, Polidori is often cited as a source of information about the supernatural.[15] Opera[edit] Polidori functions as narrator in John Mueter's one-act opera Everlasting Universe and has a speaking role in several scenes. Television[edit] In the Highlander: The Series episode "The Modern Prometheus", which featured Lord Byron, one of the series regulars, Methos, serves as a stand-in for Polidori. Methos, who was immortal, was Byron's mentor, friend, and physician, and experienced the same events as the real Polidori did on that (in)famous night. In the stop-motion animated series Mary Shelley's Frankenhole, Polidori is a regular character portrayed as the immortal lab assistant of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Polidori was mentioned in the Tales from the Crypt episode "Ritual". Dr. John Polidori (portrayed by John O'Hurley) was the antagonist of the fifth season The X-Files episode, "The Post-Modern Prometheus". Polidori was also portrayed by Noah McLaughlin in the 2016 web series A Ungenial Summer, which fictionalized the events of the summer of 1816 in the modern day. In this version, Polidori serves as a personal assistant to Lord Byron, rather than physician. In the episode of CBBC children's television show Horrible Histories entitled Staggering Storytellers, Polidori was portrayed by Jalaal Hartley in the sketch about the original of his story, The Vampyre and Mary Shelley's (portrayed by Jessica Ransom) story Frankenstein while at Lord Byron's Villa Diodati in Switzerland. Polidori is portrayed by Maxim Baldry in the 2020 Doctor Who episode "The Haunting of Villa Diodati", which depicts him as a sleepwalker. Bibliography[edit] Polidori, John William (2009), Rossetti, William Michael (ed.), The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, relating to Byron, Shelley, etc., Cornell, NY: Cornell University Library, ISBN 978-1-4297-9503-6. See also[edit] Rossetti–Polidori family tree References[edit] ^ Macdonald, DL (1991), Poor Polidori, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-2774-1 ^ a b c d e Polidori, John William (2009), Rossetti, William Michael (ed.), The diary, Cornell, NY: Cornell University Library, ISBN 978-1-4297-9503-6 ^ Rieger, James. "Dr. Polidori and the Genesis of Frankenstein." Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 3 (Winter 1963), 461-72. ^ Praz, Mario, ed. (1968), Three Gothic Novels, Classics, New York: Penguin, p. xxxix, ISBN 0-14-043036-9 ^ Frayling, Christopher. Vampyres: Genesis and Resurrection: from Count Dracula to Vampirella. London: Thames and Hudson, 2016. ^ Rieger 1963, pp. 461-72 ^ Viets, Henry R. (1961). ""By The Visitation Of God": The Death Of John William Polidori, M.D., In 1821". The British Medical Journal. 2 (5269): 1773–1775. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5269.1773. ISSN 0007-1447. JSTOR 20356143. PMC 1970869. PMID 14037964. ^ "Ximenes". Internet Archive. Retrieved 4 August 2021. ^ "The Fall of Angels, a sacred poem". Internet Archive. Retrieved 4 August 2021. ^ Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2003). "Vampire Evolution". METAphor (3): 21. Retrieved 25 November 2015. ^ The Vampire in Folklore, History, Literature, Film and Television: A Comprehensive Bibliography. ^ Green plaques, UK: Westminster, archived from the original on 16 July 2012 ^ Ackroyd, Peter (2008), The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein, Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-53084-2 ^ Andahazi, Federeico (1998), Las Piadosas, Editorial Sudamericana ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (2011). Rivers of London. London: Gollancz. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-4072-4316-0. Sources[edit] Nigel Leask, "Polidori, John William (1795–1821)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 30 April 2006. Rieger, James. "Dr. Polidori and the Genesis of Frankenstein." Studies in English Literature 3 (1963): 461–72. The origin of Frankenstein was in a conversation between John William Polidori and Percy Bysshe Shelley on 15 June 1816. Rossetti, William Michael, The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori, Elkin Matthews, 1911 Retrieved 2 October 2015. Stott, Andrew McConnell. "The Poet, the Physician and the Birth of the Modern Vampire", The Public Domain Review. Retrieved 7 August 2017. Stott, Andrew McConnell. The Poet and the Vampyre: The Curse of Byron and the Birth of Literature's Greatest Monsters. New York: Canongate/Pegasus, 2013. Further reading[edit] Frayling, Christopher (1992), Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula, ISBN 0-571-16792-6. Carrère, Emmanuel (1984), Bravoure [Gothic Romance], ISBN 0-684-19199-7. External links[edit] Wikisource has original works by or about:John William Polidori Wikimedia Commons has media related to John William Polidori. "Polidori, John William" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. Works by John William Polidori at Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg's E-Text of "The Vampyre" Works by or about John William Polidori at Internet Archive Works by John William Polidori at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) The Polidori Files, archived from the original on 27 October 2009. The web's first link portal devoted entirely to John William Polidori, author of "The Vampyre". Polidori, Ampleforth College, archived from the original on 21 June 2006. Polidori, John W, The Vampyre (short movie), ES, archived from the original on 18 November 2017, retrieved 18 September 2014, starring Paul Naschy. A Vampyre Tale John Polidori Life at Keats-Shelley House.org Archived 18 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine vte"The Vampyre" by John William Polidori (1819)Characters Lord Ruthven Operas Der Vampyr (1828, Lindpaintner) Der Vampyr (1828, Marschner) Other The Vampyr: A Soap Opera (miniseries) Related The Vampire (novella) "Fragment of a Novel" vteLord ByronTopics Barony of Byron Byronic hero Early life Newstead Abbey Timeline of Lord Byron People Anne Isabella, Lady Byron (wife) Ada Lovelace (daughter) Allegra Byron (daughter) John "Mad Jack" Byron (father) Claire Clairmont Nicolo Giraud Contessa Guiccioli Jane Harley John Cam Hobhouse Douglas Kinnaird Lady Caroline Lamb Augusta Leigh (maternal half-sister) Medora Leigh Thomas Moore Isaac Nathan Walter Scott John William Polidori Percy Bysshe Shelley Mary Shelley Edward John Trelawny Michael C. 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EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM GENEVA.
"I breathe freely in the neighbourhood of this lake; the ground upon which I tread has been subdued from the earliest ages; the principal objects which immediately strike my eye, bring to my recollection scenes, in which man acted the hero and was the chief object of interest. Not to look back to earlier times of battles and sieges, here is the bust of Rousseau-here is a house with an inscription denoting that the Genevan philosopher first drew breath under its roof. A little out of the town is Ferney, the residence of Voltaire; where that wonderful, though certainly in many respects contemptible, character, received, like the hermits of old, the visits of pilgrims, not only from his own nation, but from the farthest boundaries of Europe. Here too is Bonnet's abode, and, a few steps beyond, the house of that astonishing woman Madame de Stael: perhaps the first of her sex, who has really proved its often claimed equality with, the nobler man. We have before had women who have written interesting novels and poems, in which their tact at observing drawing-room characters has availed them; but never since the days of Heloise have those faculties which are peculiar to man, been developed as the possible inheritance of woman. Though even here, as in the case of Heloise, our sex have not been backward in alledging the existence of an Abeilard in the person of M. Schlegel as the inspirer of her works. But to proceed: upon the same side of the lake, Gibbon, Bonnivard, Bradshaw, and others mark, as it were, the stages for our progress; whilst upon the other side there is one house, built by Diodati, the friend of Milton, which has contained within its walls, for several months, that poet whom we have so often read together, and who-if human passions remain the same, and human feelings, like chords, on being swept by nature's impulses shall vibrate as before-will be placed by posterity in the first rank of our English Poets. You must have heard, or the Third Canto of Childe Harold will have informed you, that Lord Byron resided many months in this neighbourhood. I went with some friends a few days ago, after having seen Ferney, to view this mansion. I trod the floors with the same feelings of awe and respect as we did, together, those of Shakespeare's dwelling at Stratford. I sat down in a chair of the saloon, and satisfied myself that I was resting on what he had made his constant seat. I found a servant there who had lived with him; she, however, gave me but little information. She pointed out his bed-chamber upon the same level as the saloon and dining-room, and informed me that he retired to rest at three, got up at two, and employed himself a long time over his toilette; that he never went to sleep without a pair of pistols and a dagger by his side, and that he never ate animal food. He apparently spent some part of every day upon the lake in an English boat. There is a balcony from the saloon which looks upon the lake and the mountain Jura; and I imagine, that it must have been hence, he contemplated the storm so magnificently described in the Third Canto; for you have from here a most extensive view of all the points he has therein depicted. I can fancy him like the scathed pine, whilst all around was sunk to repose, still waking to observe, what gave but a weak image of the storms which had desolated his own breast.
The sky is changed!-and such a change; Oh, night! And storm and darkness, ye are wond'rous strong, Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light Of a dark eye in woman! Far along From peak to peak, the rattling crags among, Leaps the lire thunder! Not from one lone cloud, But every mountain now hath found a tongue, And Jura answers thro' her misty shroud, Back to the joyous Alps who call to her aloud!
And this is in the night:-Most glorious night! Thou wer't not sent for slumber! let me be A sharer in thy far and fierce delight,- A portion of the tempest and of me! How the lit lake shines a phosphoric sea, And the big rain comet dancing to the earth! And now again 'tis black,-and now the glee Of the loud hills shakes with its mountain mirth, As if they did rejoice o'er a young; earthquake's birth,
Now where the swift Rhine cleaves his way between Heights which appear, as lovers who have parted In haste, whose mining depths so intervene, That they can meet no more, tho' broken hearted; Tho' in their souls which thus each other thwarted, Love was the very root of the fond rage Which blighted their life's bloom, and then departed- Itself expired, but leaving; them an age Of years all winter-war within themselves to wage.
I went down to the little port, if I may use the expression, wherein his vessel used to lay, and conversed with the cottager, who had the care of it. You may smile, but I have my pleasure in thus helping my personification of the individual I admire, by attaining to the knowledge of those circumstances which were daily around him. I have made numerous enquiries in the town concerning him, but can learn nothing. He only went into society there once, when M. Pictet took him to the house of a lady to spend the evening. They say he is a very singular man, and seem to think him very uncivil. Amongst other things they relate, that having invited M. Pictet and Bonstetten to dinner, he went on the lake to Chillon, leaving a gentleman who travelled with him to receive them and make his apologies. Another evening, being invited to the house of Lady D-- H--, he promised to attend, but upon approaching the windows of her ladyship's villa, and perceiving the room to be full of company, he set down his friend, desiring him to plead his excuse, and immediately returned home. This will serve as a contradiction to the report which you tell me is current in England, of his having been avoided by his countrymen on the continent. The case happens to be directly the reverse, as he has been generally sought by them, though on most occasions, apparently without success. It is said, indeed, that upon paying his first visit at Coppet, following the servant who had announced his name, he was surprised to meet a lady carried out fainting; but before he had been seated many minutes, the same lady, who had been so affected at the sound of his name, returned and conversed with him a considerable time-such is female curiosity and affectation! He visited Coppet frequently, and of course associated there with several of his countrymen, who evinced no reluctance to meet him whom his enemies alone would represent as an outcast.
Though I have been so unsuccessful in this town, I have been more fortunate in my enquiries elsewhere. There is a society three or four miles from Geneva, the centre of which is the Countess of Breuss, a Russian lady, well acquainted with the agrémens de la Société, and who has collected them round herself at her mansion. It was chiefly here, I find, that the gentleman who travelled with Lord Byron, as physician, sought for society. He used almost every day to cross the lake by himself, in one of their flat-bottomed boats, and return after passing the evening with his friends, about eleven or twelve at night, often whilst the storms were raging in the circling summits of the mountains around. As he became intimate, from long acquaintance, with several of the families in this neighbourhood, I have gathered from their accounts some excellent traits of his lordship's character, which I will relate to you at some future opportunity. I must, however, free him from one imputation attached to him-of having in his house two sisters as the partakers of his revels. This is, like many other charges which have been brought against his lordship, entirely destitute of truth. His only companion was the physician I have already mentioned. The report originated from the following circumstance: Mr. Percy Bysshe Shelly, a gentleman well known for extravagance of doctrine, and for his daring, in their profession, even to sign himself with the title of ATHeos in the Album at Chamouny, having taken a house below, in which he resided with Miss M. W. Godwin and Miss Clermont, (the daughters of the celebrated Mr. Godwin) they were frequently visitors at Diodati, and were often seen upon the lake with his Lordship, which gave rise to the report, the truth of which is here positively denied.
Among other things which the lady, from whom I procured these anecdotes, related to me, she mentioned the outline of a ghost story by Lord Byron. It appears that one evening Lord B., Mr. P. B. Shelly, the two ladies and the gentleman before alluded to, after having perused a German work, which was entitled Phantasmagoriana, began relating ghost stories; when his lordship having recited the beginning of Christabel, then unpublished, the whole took so strong a hold of Mr. Shelly's mind, that he suddenly started up and ran out of the room. The physician and Lord Byron followed, and discovered him leaning against a mantle-piece, with cold drops of perspiration trickling down his face. After having given him something to refresh him, upon enquiring into the cause of his alarm, they found that his wild imagination having pictured to him the bosom of one of the ladies with eyes (which was reported of a lady in the neighbourhood where he lived) he was obliged to leave the room in order to destroy the impression. It was afterwards proposed, in the course of conversation, that each of the company present should write a tale depending upon some supernatural agency, which was undertaken by Lord B., the physician, and Miss M. W. Godwin.[1] My friend, the lady above referred to, had in her possession the outline of each of these stories; I obtained them as a great favour, and herewith forward them to you, as I was assured you would feel as much curiosity as myself, to peruse the ebauches of so great a genius, and those immediately under his influence."

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Word Lists:

Personification : the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Unpublished : (of a piece of writing or music) not issued in print for public sale or consumption

Saloon : a public room or building used for a specified purpose

Peruse : read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way

Imputation : a charge or claim that someone has done something undesirable; an accusation

Physician : a person qualified to practice medicine

Outcast : a person who has been rejected by society or a social group

Affectation : behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress

Contemptible : deserving contempt; despicable

Crag : a steep or rugged cliff or rock face.

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Rating: Words in the Passage: 1768 Unique Words: 730 Sentences: 68
Noun: 465 Conjunction: 140 Adverb: 105 Interjection: 1
Adjective: 79 Pronoun: 183 Verb: 298 Preposition: 255
Letter Count: 7,901 Sentiment: Positive Tone: Neutral Difficult Words: 427
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