In 1871, J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic vampire tale, Carmilla, debuted in serialized form in the pages of the magazine Dark Blue and was then reprinted in Le Fanu’s short story collection, In a Glass Darkly, published in 1872. But why wait another 9 months to celebrate that landmark first publication when we can do it right now?
If you’re unfamiliar with what’s probably Le Fanu’s most famous work, here’s the back-cover copy from our edition, which has become the most popular title in our Illustrated Classics line:
Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the vampiric tale of Carmilla and Laura.
Living with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.
Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything that Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.
Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….
The influence of Carmilla on horror fiction has lasted to this day, serving as an inspiration for numerous writers—including Bram Stoker in the creation of the vampire brides who threaten Jonathan Harker in Stoker’s seminal novel, Dracula. Carmilla has also been an inspiration for filmmakers, television production companies, comic-book creators, and radio-show producers. And literary critics certainly enjoy the story:
“What makes Carmilla so endearing is the fact that the story is centered around two female characters, whose complicated relationship is colored by thinly veiled lesbian undertones.”—Slate
“Carmilla manages to pack in a lot of creepiness, narrative complexity, and moral ambiguity. It is worth reading both as a progenitor of the vampire genre and as a nuanced portrayal of a female relationship—part romance, part horror story—that exists outside the confines of masculine power.”—The Toast
Carmilla is available in print and digital formats, so visit its product page for further information. Our edition features great black-and-white illustrations by Eliseu Gouseia, the artist for the graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City, the sci-fi Illustrated Classic A Princess of Mars, and the Pandora Zwieback comics.
