Vampire Literature

As Nina Auerbach argues in her introduction to Our Vampires, Ourselves, vampires are “personifications of their age.” Vampire Literature: An Anthology is the first anthology designed specifically to introduce students and general readers to the history, theory, and cultural impact of the literary vampire. With coverage from the early nineteenth century to the twenty-first, Vampire Literature: An Anthology brings together a wide range of texts from many eras—and also collects work by American, British, Irish, and Caribbean writers. The focus is on shorter prose texts, primarily short stories and novellas (Polidori’s The Vampyre and Le Fanu’s Carmilla are included in full); in a few cases, longer works are excerpted. A range of illustrations, from political cartoons to film stills, is also included.

With an informative general introduction, headnotes to each selection, and explanatory footnotes throughout, Vampire Literature: An Anthology is an ideal introduction to the genre.