Like most normal people, the minute the days start getting sunnier and warmer, I get an incredible yearning to read horror novels. As such, I recently read 'Carmilla' by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, one of the unholy trio of classic 19th century vampire novels in my collection. (The others are Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' (1897) and Dr John Polidori's sideswipe at Lord Byron, 'The Vampyre' (1819).)
Published in 1872, 'Carmilla' is the story of a young aristocrat named Laura and the mysterious Carmilla. Living in a remote castle with her father and two governesses, Laura feels the bite of her isolation keenly and longs for more contact with those of her own age. Her prayers seem to have been answered when her father offers refuge to a young woman, Carmilla, involved in a dramatic carriage accident nearby. But the dream soon becomes a nightmare as Carmilla proves an idiosyncratic house guest, prone to passions and melancholies and unexplained nocturnal absences...
As you know, I often struggle with 'classic' books and, even though I hate to admit it, my blood often runs cold when I think about reading them. 'Carmilla' surprised me because I found it highly readable, a page turner even, and I really wanted to keep reading it right until the end.
The classic vampire is an aristocratic male, so I was curious about a story with a female revenant. It's interesting that whether villain or villainess the overall structure of the vampire tale and a number of traditional features are pretty much the same. For example, when Carmilla is at her most obsessive about Laura, there is a definite sexual energy and her femininity and animal magnetism save her on a number of occasions. She's also charming, aristocratic and able to appear in animal form. There are predictive dreams, mysterious deaths, a historic back story and an expert in vampires who helps sort everything out. Basically, there's everything you'd expect.
Overall, I'd say that this book is worth a read, although, like any vampire tale, it's teeth are probably blunter because variations on the story have stolen its originality over the past 150 years ago. As well as the female vampire, I think it is Laura who makes the difference. Her honesty, naivety and vulnerability made it hard not to root for her and hope things turn out well. It's a compliment to the writer that I didn't think her a sap!
In many ways, Carmilla's changeable personality made me think of the complexities of growing up and being a teen, so perhaps this is something teenaged readers might relate to in particular.
'Carmilla' is ripe for a new TV adaptation. We've seen Dracula and other vampires revived so many times on screen, it would be interesting to see what the female of the species has been up to all this time. The New Year slot seems to have become the home of gothic dramas, so perhaps 'Carmilla' will turn up there in a few years time. One thing I am sure of - she's far from dead and gone.
