Poor Polidori : A Critical Biography of the Author of The Vampyre

Not content only with making my research possible, they also made it very pleasant. Parts of a number of letters by and to Polidori were translated from the Italian by William Michael Rossetti, apparently for a projected edition; Robert Vidoni and Eve Shamash translated the remaining Italian documents for me, and Marguerite Chiarenza corrected the translations. John Lepage corrected my translations from French; Lyn Rae, my translations from Latin. Kathleen Scherf corrected my transcriptions of manuscripts, and helped in preparing the notes and bibliography. Helena Petkau helped me to read proofs and prepare the index.

In 1816, John William Polidori travelled to Geneva as Byron's doctor. There he took part in the famous ghost-story project that inspired Frankenstein. As the medical member of the party, he contributed some scientific information to Mary shelley's novel. As a writer, he was the most industrious of the party, producing both a novel of his own, Ernestus Berchtold, and The Vampyre, a tale based on an idea of Byron's. An unscrupulous publisher issued Polidori's tale under Byron's name, thereby ensuring great success for the book, although not for its true author. (Byron fired Polidori as his doctor soon after.) History has not paid Polidori much attention. Although he has figured prominetly in a few novels and films, there has never been a full-length study of his life until now.

D.L. Macdonald rectifies the situation with this biography. He explains how Polidori's vampire was created as a caricature of the doctor's employer - the aristocrat, the traveller, the seducer. This version differed entirely from the vampire of folklore. It became extraordinarily influential, and remains essentially the vampire of popular culture today.

Polidori's life, through short and unsuccessful, provides an opportunity for a new look at the Romantic period. His very lack of success forced him to engage himself succesfully in medicine, literature, law, politics, philosophy, and religion. In following his course we encounter not only a fascinating character but also a wide cross-section of cultural history.

In 1816, John William Polidori travelled to Geneva as Byron's doctor. There he took part in the famous ghost-story project that inspired Frankenstein. As the medical member of the party, he contributed some scientific information to Mary shelley's novel. As a writer, he was the most industrious of the party, producing both a novel of his own, Ernestus Berchtold, and The Vampyre, a tale based on an idea of Byron's. An unscrupulous publisher issued Polidori's tale under Byron's name, thereby ensuring great success for the book, although not for its true author. (Byron fired Polidori as his doctor soon after.) History has not paid Polidori much attention. Although he has figured prominetly in a few novels and films, there has never been a full-length study of his life until now. D.L. Macdonald rectifies the situation with this biography. He explains how Polidori's vampire was created as a caricature of the doctor's employer - the aristocrat, the traveller, the seducer. This version differed entirely from the vampire of folklore. It became extraordinarily influential, and remains essentially the vampire of popular culture today. Polidori's life, through short and unsuccessful, provides an opportunity for a new look at the Romantic period. His very lack of success forced him to engage himself succesfully in medicine, literature, law, politics, philosophy, and religion. In following his course we encounter not only a fascinating character but also a wide cross-section of cultural history Contents 7 Preface 9 Part One. Before Byron: 1795-1816 23 1. Beginnings 23 2. The University of Edinburgh 35 3. Ximenes: The Modern Abraham 45 4. Oneirodynia 51 5. 'On the Punishment of Death' 63 Part Two. Byron: 1816 73 6. Negotiations 73 7. Travels with Byron 82 8. A Star in the Halo of the Moon 93 9. Ghost Stories 103 10. A Series of Slight Quarrels 119 Part Three. After Byron: 1816-1821 127 11. Crossing the Alps 127 12. Milan 134 13. Travels in Italy 145 14. Norwich 162 15. An Essay upon the Source of Positive Pleasure 172 16. London 188 17. The Scandal of The Vampyre 197 18. Ernestus Berchtold; or, The Modern Oedipus 224 19. The Fall of the Angels 244 20. Death and Afterlife 255 Notes 263 Bibliography 309 Index 335 Acknowledgments 351