The Vampyre

By: John Polidori

Narrated by: B.J. Harrison

Young, impressionable Aubrey is fascinated by the enigmatic Lord Ruthven, and accompanies him on a tour to Europe. But Aubrey develops a growing distaste for Lord Ruthven’s sinister and grotesque conduct - especially as it concerns human blood.

This novella, penned during that tempestuous night in Switzerland amongst such notables as Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and Mary Shelley, served as the great inspiration for Bram Stoker to create Dracula. Discover the roots of vampirism in literature with award-winning narrator B. J. Harrison.

Public Domain (P)2009 B.J. Harrison

Kicking it oldschool

Any additional comments?

I was a little worried before I downloaded this, since another reviewer had said the performance was terrible, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's appropriately dramatic in the right places and the perfect level of camp for this kind of story. Wonderful little story, good reading, and well worth a listen.

Rich ground from which Dracula sprang.

This short story, the inspiration for Bram Stokers Dracula, is rich with depth and meaning. Being written as a criticism of life and malevolence of Lord Byron the entire Vmapire genre, from Dracula on owes homage to this short, but exquisite work. I would have preferred a better reader, but B.J. read this better than the Mortal Immortal, so maybe there is growth here. Not so bad as to ruin the story, but certainly not the quality as other more prolific readers.

Good story but…

Intriguing book but it ends abruptly. I wanted more story. I wanted to find out what happens to Aubrey’s sister. Also not much info is given about the vampire just that he’s a villain.

a year and a day

My my my. How I loved this one. It's very twisted. I dont want to give too much away. As it isn't a long book at all. I could have sworn Ive watched a movie based off of this one but to where the protagonist is a dampier. Whis is not the case in this book. Tragedy and a twist at the end you wont see coming. I do recommend a visit through this not so well known book. It came out in 1819.

Read it instead

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

'Vampyre' is an interesting story, one of the earliest vampire stories published. I listened to it just after I listened to 'Carmilla' to try to get the flow of the progression of the vampire tales. Carmilla is a better story, in my opinion. I found Vampyre a little too predictable, but then perhaps I'm spoiled from all the blood sucker books I've read (and movies I've seen) over the years. The big downfall, by far, is the narration of B.J. Harrison. His expression is very poor and his emphasis misplaced. I think he might do well with some childrens books, but I'm not even sure of that. I cannot recommend him at all. Since his is the only version of Vampyre available on Audible I suggest you read this story. I believe you will be better satisfied.