Tuesday Treasures: Polidori's 'The Vampyre'

In this week's #TuesdayTreasures film, Esther takes a look at John William Polidori’s 1819 novel 'The Vampyre'.

This novel was originally attributed to Lord Byron, but was actually written by Byron’s doctor Polidori, and along with 'Frankenstein', this was one of the ghost stories written after one fateful night at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. It became the first modern vampire story.

The Jerwood Centre, our state-of-the-art library and archive next door to Dove Cottage, is home to over 90% of William Wordsworth's original verse manuscripts, Dorothy Wordsworth's Grasmere journal, and many more letters and journals written by the family. On the shelves of our Reading Room, you will find rare editions by not only Wordsworth, but also his contemporaries: Byron, Coleridge, Keats, Mary Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft to name a few.
Our art collection of the Lake District includes over 9,000 items, and features works by major artists such as John Constable and J.M.W. Turner.

You can search the Wordsworth Trust's collection online here:

For more information about the Wordsworth Trust:

[fantastical-whimsical]

It was such a shame he wasn't even really believed in by the other writers and friends in his circle, and even when the book was published, the agency effectively stole his work and penned it to an already successful guy. I really wonder or wish that he would have known how culturally important he really is, and I wish there was more information about him and his life, and that he would get the credit he would deserve. Everyone always screams about Dracula being a superior story, but in my personal opinion, Polidori's vampire adventure across a changed regency Europe really is fascinating and beautiful.

[helenaxx]

Very clear and informative. Thank you 😊

[imenetouil]

It saddens me to read about great works of people in the past but who died not knowing the great impact their creativity had on people for centuries, let alone take their own lives because of these same works' failures.