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Varney El Vampiro

James Malcolm Rymer · Originally serialized c. 1845–47; this edition 1875

Varney El Vampiro
Catalog Description This 2008 scholarly edition, edited by Curt Herr, reproduces *Varney the Vampire; or, The Feast of Blood*, James Malcolm Rymer's 1845 penny dreadful serial. The volume contains the complete 230-chapter vampire narrative alongside supplementary materials. Featured works include the titular serial about Sir Francis Varney, a psychologically complex vampire; "Mary, the Innmaid" (author unknown); G.W.M. Reynolds's "The Resurrection Men"; "The Undead" (author unknown); and "The Scottish Monster" (author unknown). The appendices gather nineteenth-century commentary on penny dreadfuls' social impact—including defenses by G.K. Chesterton and critiques by James Greenwood—alongside scholarly essays examining authorship attribution and the genre's literary significance. Original woodcuts from the 1847 printing and facsimile introductions by E.F. Bleiler and Devendra P. Varma contextualize the work within Victorian working-class fiction and the development of literary vampire tradition.

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