Publisher's Synopsis
The House of the Vampire is a 1907 novella that is a very unusual vampire story. A young writer comes under the powerful influence of a mysterious older master, who seems to have left a trail of ruined proteges in his wake. The story is as much about the nature of artistic creation as it is a chilling vampire tale. The title is a bit misleading. The "vampire" of the title does not feed upon the blood of his victims as Stoker's vampire. The novella is slow to get started but picks up but ends abruptly just as it was getting interesting. For those interested in the history of vampires in literature it might be worth a read but to others I doubt they will make it twenty pages in before growing bored. I believe that it was published in 1910 so the style reflects that time. There is no real overt horror and is very tame and one would find more sensational images in Stoker's novel. I give it a marginal recommendation. Being only 75 pages long it is a reasonably quick read. It just requires adjusting to the leisurely pace. But it is an interesting variation on the vampire theme, which was still relatively new at this period of time and didn't need to rely on the established tropes defined by Stoker. The archaic and flowery style of this book would be considered hopelessly overwritten today. But after awhile I cane to enjoy it, seeing this book as a fascinating look into the formal, stilted world of upper-class 1907. Some have argued that this is "gay" fiction. Well? There is no actual gay sex, but there is a lot of affection, adoration and love for one male towards another.It also took awhile for the storyline to develop, but once it became obvious what was happening, I was drawn right in. I actually read this a second time, whereupon I better appreciated the hints that were dropped early on, and the skill with which Viereck portrayed the mind-raping Reginald.I re-read it because I was so interested in the psychology of the author. G.S. Viereck seemed to be a collector of great men. He befriended Nikola Tesla, went around interviewing other notables including Freud, Einstein and Hitler. In fact Viereck admired Hitler and called him a "genius". And finally he was jailed for spreading Nazi propaganda.Knowing this about the author made me want to re-read this book, to see just how much of 'Reginald Clarke' was autobiographical, at least as "wishful thinking" on Viereck's part.Judging by the ending, I am tempted to say "it is a definite possibility".
