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Book Review
Oct. 8th, 2022 12:05 pmCarmilla
by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
This short novella is a vampire tale that predates Dracula by a quarter century. The story is narrated by Laura, who spent her youth living a relatively isolated life in an old and remote Austrian castle with her father. One evening a passing carriage has an accident in front of the castle, resulting in one of the passengers, a lovely young woman named Carmilla, staying with Laura and her father for a few weeks. Laura and Carmilla really hit it off and quickly become very close friends. But Carmilla turns out to have some eccentricities and Laura starts feeling increasingly fatigued and ill, partially as a result of the nightmares she's started having.
I quite enjoyed this gothic tale. The short length meant that, unlike some other examples of the genre, it didn't get bogged down in lengthy descriptions or background material. Sheridan Le Fanu is very good at building up an atmosphere of dread and mystery. He also includes a lot of sapphic subtext, with the interesting point that while Carmilla meets the expected end, the author does not give any indication that Laura went on to heterosexual relationships and marriage after surviving Carmilla.
by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
This short novella is a vampire tale that predates Dracula by a quarter century. The story is narrated by Laura, who spent her youth living a relatively isolated life in an old and remote Austrian castle with her father. One evening a passing carriage has an accident in front of the castle, resulting in one of the passengers, a lovely young woman named Carmilla, staying with Laura and her father for a few weeks. Laura and Carmilla really hit it off and quickly become very close friends. But Carmilla turns out to have some eccentricities and Laura starts feeling increasingly fatigued and ill, partially as a result of the nightmares she's started having.
I quite enjoyed this gothic tale. The short length meant that, unlike some other examples of the genre, it didn't get bogged down in lengthy descriptions or background material. Sheridan Le Fanu is very good at building up an atmosphere of dread and mystery. He also includes a lot of sapphic subtext, with the interesting point that while Carmilla meets the expected end, the author does not give any indication that Laura went on to heterosexual relationships and marriage after surviving Carmilla.
