The Blood of the Vampire Paperback – 22 Jun. 2010

After 10 years of seclusion within the confines of a Convent Harriet Brandt finds herself at the age of 21 her own mistress with money at her command .Now its a truth , universally acknowledged , that a young lady in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a man ....Except that Harriet is no ordinary lady . The poor girl seems to drain the Life out of everyone she Touches . She can't help it . Its in her Nature ! She's inherited Bad Genes . A Bad Blood Line !This tale of deviance is every bit as good as Bram Stoker's Dracula . If anything the disordering of the senses is more unsettling because the tale is more realistic , more believable , more grown up !Yes , amazingly , The Blood Of The Vampire might be the Better Book !

Florence Marryat was the daughter of the famous Captain Frederick Marryat and the surname did definitely help her when she first started witing. In her lifetime she wrote something like 70 novels mainly in the sensation fiction genre, indeed this novel has a sensational element itself. I should warn you though that despite the title you are not really going to get a vampire horror tale here, indeed when you first start reading it you could be forgiven for thinking that this was a social comedy.The tale starts at an hotel in a resort upon the Continent, Belgium to be exact. With all the tourists there there is also young, very attractive lady. This lady turns out to be Harriet Brandt and is travelling with a friend to accompany her home. With her wide-eyed innocence it soon transpires that she has been brought up in a Convent in the West Indies. Harriet seems very kind and loving, but those she forms an attachment with start to wither and eventually die. Could there be something wrong with Harriet?The story then transfers to London, England where all the main characters are now residing, and Harriet is temporarily staying with Baroness Gobelli, a larger than life character who isn't above telling a lie or two, and is very domineering. As things proceed the rumours of Harriet's parents starts to emerge. Indeed Harriet herself starts to remember things as well. She is an illegitimate child of a Jamaican plantation owner, who carried out vivisectionist experiments, not just on animals but people as well, and her mother was a Voodoo priestess. We get told how there was an uprising and her parents were killed, also at the same time we find that the Baroness herself is a mediumistic charlatan. Harriet is a Quadroon, and so the head of racism raises itself, and she is considered to be a bit low for high society. With men taking a fancy to her a forthcoming marriage is put in danger, but also the men that she starts to get close to start dying, making life for Harriet herself too much.Some people may find this a bit non-pc in places, but remember this was written in 1897, indeed the same year Dracula was published. Although Forence Marryat was extremely popular in her day she has seemed to have fallen into a black hole, like many another Victorian author over the years. This novel contains a hint of the supernatural, and if you read between the lines more than just a whiff of bisexuality, as well as racism and other subjects. Like Henry James'  The Turn of the Screw (Dover Thrift) , you can read this either as a horror tale with a psychic vampire, or as a more psychological novel that highlights the thoughts and fears of its day. Greta Depledge, who editted this also provides an introduction, footnotes and appendices which contain pieces from the time that show what the thoughts were on hysteria, eugenics, etc. Also a review from the time is included. If you like something a little bit different and thought provoking, then this should be right up your street.

Only just started, but there’s clearly a bit missing between page 6 and 7, and I’ve no idea what...picture attached. Can’t work out how to contact seller to raise the issue...

This novel was first published in 1897 - yes, the same year as Dracula.Readers may well find the poisonously racist views expressed by the old doctor, who, I think, is intended to be a fairly sympathetic character more chilling than the suggestions of vampirism and end up with a good deal of sympathy for the most unwilling vampire Harriet Brandt, with her sad heritage. Apart from her unfortunate tendency to cause the death of anyone she is fond of she is blamed by the other characters for having a good appetite for food, and for being sexually attractive - and the author seems, implicitly, to be blaming her as well.

good vajue and prompt delivery

Interesting novel,I probably would not label it as a vampire novel as it is all suspicion and maybe to do with curse. Not much is going on the vampire issue until the last 3 chapters of the novel.

I purchased this for my daughter who was studying English Lit so can only say it was a necessary item. It got her through her degree so can only rate it from a student's viewpoint.