Each Friday in October around 5pm eastern, Nia will post a thread to start the larger discussion on the topic. To supplement the discussion, I have prepared some more reading lists and background information to help you put it into a broader context and help your library patrons.
You can engage with the conversation anytime using the #LJReads and #LovecraftFridays hashtags. Pass it on to your patrons and encourage them to participate too.
We also have a large, free, wrap up program planned for 10/30- the final Friday. Details on that next week; let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
Let’s get started now with our first topic-- Letitia & Dracula and the theme of the undead.
A little background on the history of vampires in literature from Dracula paraphrased from my book, The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, second edition [ALA Editions, 2012]:
The vampires of today’s fiction bear little resemblance to the frightful bloodsucking creatures found in history and folklore. In early tales of vampirism, individuals who were already of shady character or had been killed violently were seen as being more likely to return from the dead to feed on the living. These original vampires were hideous, partially decayed creatures that attacked living relatives and neighbors rather than beautiful aristocratic damsels in distress. The best film depiction of this type of vampire can be best seen in the silent film, Nosferatu (1922). Here the vampire is more animal than human, with grotesque fangs, pointy ears, and menacing fingernails.
However, Leti, an innocent, beautiful young woman, being murdered and then brought back to life, with immortality as a consequence, is part of the more romanticized portrayals of vampires, a change that began with Dracula by Bram Stoker and reached a tipping point with Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. The most popular vampire ever, Dracula, first appeared in 1897, and the novel, Dracula, has never been out of print and has been translated into every major language in the world. Its intimate epistolary style draws readers into the thoughts of the major players in the story. When people all over the world think of vampires, it is Dracula who first comes to mind. This novel provides a compelling, suspenseful, and frightening reading experience regardless of the time and place in which it is read and it is exactly this immediate response that Lovecraft Country is playing off of in the episode, even without the scene where the novel itself makes an appearance.
Some more basic background about vampires in literature and popular culture that will enhance your enjoyment of the show and book:
Stoker’s vampire was a handsome aristocrat. Women were drawn to him, yet when they succumbed to his charms, terror and mayhem ensued.
This conflict has since been present in all vampire literature. The fear comes from both the power of the vampires and our sensual interest in them.
For almost 80 years, vampires did not stray much from the Dracula mold, and then Anne Rice released Interview with the Vampire in 1976. Rice’s protagonist, the vampire Louis Pointe du Lac, makes a confession to the reader. In the novel he recounts how he became a vampire, but, more interestingly, he also expresses his torment and guilt over his situation.
This is significant because it marks the beginning of the current trend in vampire literature: the reluctant and vulnerable vampire. This vampire wants to be human again, he or she wants to be accepted by humans, and, as this new vampire is explored by other authors, he wants to be loved.
Leti’s situation is informed by this evolution of the vampire from Dracula to Interview with a Vampire, as described. Interestingly, both of those stories have also been told in print and visual mediums over time to great success.
In the Tweet thread, Nia refers to a few books which I suggest delve into some of the mythology behind Stoker and his most famous work. Please click on hyperlink titles for direct access to my longer reviews of these books:
Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker: The official prequel to Dracula in which the authors use research to say that Stoker, a sickly child who seemed to make a miraculous recovery at age 7, was actually cured by the blood of his vampire nanny.
For the best single volume edition of Dracula you should read The New Annotated Dracula by Leslie Kilnger as it delivers the text with side-by-side commentary including a similar discussion of the “truth” behind the novel.
Dracula’s Child by J.S. Barnes: Using Dracula as source and inspiration, this novel recounts the dark and troubling series of events that unfold during Mina and Jonathan Harker's son Quincey's 13th year, events that make it clear that the vampire they thought was killed, was actually only held at bay.
Stoker's Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi: Using the real life complicated relationship between Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker as inspiration, this novel launches a new series of historical supernatural adventures. The fun, action driven plot features vampires, secret societies, portals to another realm, and more. While historical details, action sequences, and supernatural monsters abound, it is the odd coupling of Wilde and Stoker that drives the story.
Here are a few other more recent vampire novels which fans of this theme in Lovecraft Country may want to read with links to my much longer reviews of them. These are the books I suggest today’s readers of vampire fiction should try first. All play off of the general pop culture knowledge of the genre as it began with Dracula, but like Lovecraft Country, takes that startng point to bring the genre, and our enjoyment of it, somewhere new :
In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson: It is 1980 and the US is still reeling from the effects of the Vietnam War, especially in the harsh landscape of West Texas. What a great setting for a vampire tale. But this is not your typical vampire novel, rather it is actually a lyrical western, with a large dose of psychological suspense. It is a story dripping with atmosphere, a hauntingly dark, yet oddly beautiful debut, where the plot and the characters play with your mind, and the pacing is like the harsh landscape, a slow but riveting burn.
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix: A masterful blend of the disaffected, southern housewife story with a terrifying vampire tale. The anxiety and tension are palpable as these women not only have to battle societal stereotypes, but also an intensely evil, centuries old vampire. Who would you take in a match up between your mom's book club and a vampire?
The Quick by Lauren Owen: I describe this as “Dickens meets Dracula.”
A Small Charred Face by Kazuki Sakuraba: One of my favorite takes on the Vampire story because it is from a Chinese perspective. There is plenty that American readers will recognize as well as new twists. This also serves as an example of how pervasive vampire lore is across the world.
Nia will be back next Friday to discuss a new theme in Lovecraft Country on Twitter, while I will provide more background detail to supplement the discussion. In the meantime, you or your patrons can participate anytime with #LJReads.
Vampire books are fun (and scary). I loved In the Valley of the Sun!
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