Vampires: The un-history of the undead by Tony Thompson
Black dog books, 2010. ISBN 9781742031316.
Non fiction. Recommended. Just when you thought the vampire euphoria
was dying down, up pops this
most readable account of the history of vampires and their place in
myth, fiction, film and television. I wish this little gem was around
when researching for an article penned for Magpies earlier this year,
To Fang or not to fang, it would have been indispensible in
giving me a
readable overview of the background to the Twilight phenomenon that
besieges us today.
Thompson begins with the story of the writing of Frankenstein
and The
Vampyre in 1819, when a party which included Shelley and Byron,
staying
at a villa in Italy, resolved to write a horror story. What Shelley and
Byron wrote is unknown but out of that idea came Dr John Polidori's The
Vampyre, along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and these
two novels
set in train a genre of horror story still being read today. From there
Thompson goes back in time to give the vampire myth an historical
perspective, showing how villages were torn apart by the fear of
vampires, graves opened and the most horrific things done to bodies in
the belief that vampires stalked their towns. Several stories held
sway, but it was not until 1897, that Bran Stoker's Dracula
appeared
and gave the model for those seen ever since.
An account of film and television appearance by this character follows,
with a brief summary of each of the major influences, Bela Lugosi,
Nosferatu, the Hammer films of the 1950's, Blade, Buffy
and Twilight,
amongst others.
An engaging read, which includes a sound index, informative contents
page, and a great reference list allowing the avid reader to read
further. A list of Required Viewing (film) Required Reading (novels)
and Required Listening (music) adds to the fun of pursuing this theme.
I enjoyed this book immensely; the content added to my knowledge and
gave me leads to further explore the vampire genre, and with some of
the films, books and music available on the internet, my spare hours
will be filled. Middle school readers will lap it up (sorry!). Come and
meet Edward's ancestors.
Fran Knight