Why was Polidori's Vampire incorrectly attributed to Lord Byron?

One rainy summer day in 1816, at the estate of Lord Byron, Villa Diodati, located in Cologny near Geneva, Switzerland, Byron and his friends Percy and Mary Shelley spent time telling ghost stories. These tales became the foundation for future literary works, which was particularly evident in the writings of Mary Shelley, who later transformed her ideas into the famous novel.“Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus”published about two years later.

This story, recounting the meeting of several outstanding writers of the Romantic movement in the dark and majestic atmosphere of a stormy summer night, was mentioned in the preface to“Frankenstein”written by her husband. Percy Shelley noted in his writings about that night: "Two other friends, one of whom would surpass in popularity anything I could ever create, agreed to each write their own story based on some supernatural event." The "friends" undoubtedly referred to were Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, as explained by D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Sherf in the commentary to the critical edition of the novel.

Researchers believe that Percy’s idea that night was his...“A fragment of a story about a ghost”In 1816, Byron's idea was related to creating a creepy and original story about a vampire. However, there was another guest at this meeting who was not mentioned in Shelley's retelling, probably because his name was not known to the general public — it wasJohn William PolidoriByron's doctor, who introduced the concept that later became his novel.“Ernest Berktold; or Modern Oedipus”However, this work did not become his most famous literary piece; Polidori expanded on the idea of the vampire proposed by Byron (some paragraphs of which were written by Byron himself), creating his own short work on the same theme that same season titled“Vampire”.

In September of that same year, Polidori left Cologne and left his manuscript with his friend, Countess Catherine Bruce, who lived nearby. Two years later, a London publisherHenry ColburnI received a manuscript by mail, which contained "essays" of several stories - gothic exercises created and written by Byron's guests in Cologne, and, evidently, the entire manuscript of Polidori.

BibliographerHenry R. Vietswho studied the history of the publication of Polidori's text in detail, claimed that it is unknown how this material came into Colburn's hands. This package also contained a plan"Frankenstein"...but it has already been published, so Colburn discarded it and instead printed it in his magazine.“New Monthly Magazine”“Vampire”, attributing authorship to Lord Byron. He organized the publication of this story in book format shortly after that.

Polidori was astonished to see“Vampire”published under the name of Byron. Byron denied his authorship, but it was almost too late — the story in the magazine had become a triumphant success, and at least one literary edition was already in the process of being created. Polidori began writing letters to the necessary parties to properly assert his rights to authorship, and soon the edition that was already being prepared by Sherwood, Neely, and Jones was published without Byron's name, but also without Polidori's name.

This is exactly the edition of the text.“Vampire”, which I first encountered in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at Columbia University.

The edition also includes a work by Byron himself —“An excerpt from a letter containing a story about Lord Byron's stay on the island of Mytilene.”Assuming that the text was written by Byron and publishing it with accompanying materials that emphasize this is one thing, but deliberately concealing the true author while actively promoting Byron's name on the first and last pages is something entirely different.

Byron's connection to "The Vampire" and "Frankenstein"

Elements associated with the name Byron in“Vampire”and in“Frankenstein”They consider the name Byron as a brand — a desirable label associated with quality and mastery of the genre. The text essentially relies solely on these elements, with no specific names mentioned. However, this book is also perceived..."Mary Shelley"how a brand considers publication"Frankenstein".

At the end“Excerpts from a letter to the editor”the names of romantics are listed who developed ideas for ghost stories; noting thatMary Shelley (how“Miss M. V. Godwing”— her name at that time) also participated in the creation of the story, this publication includes a footnote stating: "since then published under the title“Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus”.“Vampire”I found myself in great company, the authors of the footnote emphasized.

However, this footnote also suggests another connection, further uniting the elements contained in“Vampire”and“Frankenstein”...through the collaboration of romantics. The texts created that night hold significance not only as independent works of great writers from a significant literary movement, or due to their association with the famous writer Byron, but because they evolved together—according to the principles of the Romantic movement, namely, inspiration.

The plot of "The Vampire"

“Vampire”It tells the story of a young man named Aubrey, who is dreamy, thoughtful, and prone to whims. He appreciates the beauty of everything around him and befriends the mysterious Lord Ruthven, who has a habit of seducing young women. Only after Aubrey travels to Greece and his love, the beautiful (and knowledgeable about supernatural beings) Ianthe, becomes a victim of a vampire does he begin to wonder if his friend is a monster — a suspicion that is confirmed when Lord Ruthven falls into the hands of bandits, only to reappear in Aubrey's life a year later with a new surname and the intention of marrying Aubrey's sister.

Supplement to the novel,“An excerpt from a letter containing a story about Lord Byron's stay on the island of Mytilene.”again mentions the name“Byron”and it seems to continue the eerie romantic motif of the Eastern Mediterranean world, even after Polidori's story has come to an end. Many characteristics“Vampire”They suggest a deliberate inclination towards another famous brand — Gothic and Romanticism in general.

“Introduction”The text by Polidori is a historical overview of vampirism, referencing several "historical" accounts on the subject, as well as acknowledging works of Romanticism — such as Byron's poem.“Djaur” (a huge excerpt from which is reproduced in this part) and the poem by Robert Southey “Talaba”Historical data contributes to establishing history.“Vampire”The terrifying probabilities, along with the connection to Romanticism, additionally link the story to the ideologies and conventions typical of the genre.