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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9781587155956
ISBN number: 1587155958
Label: Wildside Press
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 132
Printing Date: January 28, 2005
Publishing house: Wildside Press
Release Date: January 28, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 110695
Studio: Wildside Press
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Before DRACULA came CARMILLA A Strange Agony The exquisite and deadly vampire Carmilla haunts J. Sheridan LeFanu?s influential novel. A Gothic tale of blood and terror, Carmilla inspired later classics by Bram Stoker and Robert Louis Stevenson, ever shadowed by a love that dare not say its name.
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Rated by buyers 
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"Carmilla" is an effective, and very creepy, Victorian supernatural thriller about Carmilla, a mysterious young woman with secrets, who befriends Laura, the lonely and sheltered young daughter, who lives with her father in a castle in an Austrian forest.
If you have heard anything about this story at all, you have probably heard two things. The very first thing you have likely heard is technically a spoiler -- it is not something that Le Fanu's Victorian readers would likely have guessed prior to the revelations at the end.
The second thing you have probably heard about this story is that it has something to do with lesbians, and I have to put in a word or two of dissent. This is not really a spoiler because it is, for the most part, not true. I have read the story many times, and I know exactly why people think this, and in all cases they are missing the real point of a passage, or are being misled by differences in Victorian norms, thought and language. The erotic subtext in this novella is, at best, a Red Herring (quickly disposed of) which points the way to the mystery's true solution. Carmilla's "passion" isn't erotic -- it's something else; she's not a lesbian -- she's something else.
But to each his own. If you want to think of this as an allegorical "coming of age" story of suppressed lesbian desire, no-one can stop you. But really, the story makes a lot more sense, and is a lot creepier, the other way -- unless of course you're really scared of lesbians.
Rated by buyers 
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This is a wonderful little story about a lonely little girl born into a good family (wealth, and character) who is visited and befriended by a petulant little child who turns out to be the most dangerous vampire in history. Carmilla reeks of a romance of times not seen in the urban and suburban vistas of America. Carmilla (the story, not the girl) is of a time when the darkness following sunset relegated everyone in the village to their homes and most oftn their sleeping quarters. There might be small gatherings to hear tales or sing songs, but these were not as frequent as one might imagine. Life was comprised of survivial first, community second, and recreation when one could find it. Into this mix the soft-spoken, beautiful doll who is Carmilla (the girl, not the story) enters, only to siphon off the very sanctity of a quiet little hamlet, turning it into a chilling town of death. Carmilla would have lasted in this village for quite some time had she not gotten carelss. Some speculate that she actually did not die (much like "The Laughing Jesus" controversy), but the tale is a bit ambiguous, just enough to lave doubt in the minds of the true believers.
This story is short and tightly focused on one incident, rathr than the saga of terror carmilla pread throughout her life travelling Europe. As such it leaves much to the imagination of exatly who carmillas was and how she became to be. Written before Braum Stoker ever heard of vampiers, this is simply the one of best tales of vampirism ever written.
Rated by buyers -
Carmilla is the most important vampire story ever written. She predates Braum Stoker and takes us back to a time long before modern medicine, electricity, or late-night runs to Starbucks. The tale is as dark as the countryside in which it is set. To truly understand the tale however you must understand the time it was told in, and its historical evidence.
There have been thousands of verified cases of vampirism throughout history. Priests, constables, mayors, doctors, lawyers and judges, magistrates, and any number of respected members of society have set their hand (and seal) to oath stating "I have hereby witnessed what can only be described as a vampire." This has happened time and again all over the world, and Carmilla, sweet loving daughter and succubus is a queen among them. The story is labeled fiction by the uninitiated, but it is more a faction, and more than enough time has passed to let it be known anyway. Modern science would be delighted to actually have the evidence yesterday to examine, and sadly that is the dilemma, for the vampires (including our diminutive friend Mircalla, Malarca, and others...) have long-since abandoned us. They are simply nowhere to be found. But if you ever find yourself in a small lonely town far away from modern Europe you may catch a whiff of the sent, a trail gone cold, but still possible to follow. Carmilla was there before you. Perhaps, just perhaps...
Rated by buyers -
This was Stokers influence for his novel Dracula. It is by far the most sensual ethereal vampire story ever written. LeFanu's work can only be described as opulently poetic
Rated by buyers -
J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla is included in its entirety in a compilation book of Irish literature that I own. I wasn't impressed with a lot of the stuff I was looking at in it, but one day when I was ill from work, I leafed through the compilation to Le Fanu's mini novel and, once I began to read it, couldn't put it down until I was finished. This is highly unusual for me because I'm not big on gothic stories. However, this novella is addictive, fast paced, and one gets caught up in it as they read by sheer imagination when fueled by exceptionally talented writing.
I also thought the vampiress was showing strong lesbian traits, but wondered if Le Fanu could ever have gotten his work published if that were the case. No matter, as the story sucks you into its darkness (no pun intended) and you can actually feel Laura's growing despondency as Carmilla slowly drains away her life force rather than the Dracula-like depictions of quick attacks we often get in movies and the like. I think I was almost as creeped out by her violently emotional outbursts at the sound of a church choir and Laura seeming to take it in stride.
Intriguing and engaging, never dull, and able to transport the reader right to that eery place and time, Carmilla is a novella that takes a short time to read and still leaves you wanting more. Leave it to the Irish, who are responsible for most of the Holloween customs we follow today, to give us a timelessly stylish and truly frightening story such as this one!
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