Publisher's Synopsis
A fascinating journey into history and literature, "The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori" is Polidori's account of his travels from London to Switzerland with Lord Byron, an English poet and one of the leading figures of the Romantic Movement in the early 19th century. In the summer of 1816, Lord Byron and his guests, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin (Shelley) and her half-sister Claire Clermont, and Dr. John William Polidori were staying at the Villa Diodati, by Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The group decided to have a friendly competition to see who could write the best horror story. It was the genesis of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and of Polidori's "The Vampyre: A Tale." But the story doesn't end here. Polidori went on to travel through Switzerland and Italy, leaving us with his memoirs-a rich portrait of a time long gone. John William Polidori (1795-1821) was, for a brief period, the personal physician to Lord Byron. His manuscript was published in 1911 by his nephew, William Michael Rossetti ninety years after his uncle's death. "The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori" is one of those rare jewels of literature. At the end of the book, the reader will find a rich index of names and places. This is a new edition of "The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori" originally published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews, of London, England. Part of the project Immortal Literature Series of classic literature, this is a new edition of the classic work published in 1911 - not a facsimile reprint. Obvious typographical errors have been carefully corrected and the entire text has been reset and redesigned by Pen House Editions to enhance readability, while respecting the original edition. About the Author: An English writer and critic, William Michael Rossetti (1829-1919) was the brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, and an original member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He edited, with invaluable explanatory notes, the diaries of his maternal uncle John William Polidori-the fascinating account of the few weeks, in 1816, which were essential to the development of the Romantic Movement, during which Polidori's "The Vampyre: A Tale"-the first vampire novel published in English-and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" arose from a storytelling competition at the Villa Diodati, in Switzerland.
