Book Review: Varney the Vampire (Dover Publications)
Varney the Vampire is a Victorian-era gothic serial that was first published from 1845-1847 in what was known as the “penny dreadful” format. Authorship of the original work is still a matter of some debate; though most acknowledge James Malcolm Rymer or Thomas Peckett Prest (or possibly both) as the actual author(s). Varney is considered by many the original vampire story on which all others are built. Varney didn’t play to the vampire horror tropes. It created them. By modern standards, the narrative is woefully inconsistent, poorly edited, and occasionally (all right, more than occasionally) downright soap opera. But it is important to appreciate Varney in relation to the time it was written. It was a surprisingly revolutionary work.
These Dover Publications editions are not a retelling or a revision. These are reproductions of the original text with all of the warts. While this edition does reproduce some of the original art, not all of the art is included. It is important to note that the actual penny dreadful serial ran well over two hundred chapters. I can understand why the publishers made the decision to limit the number of images included. Even breaking the serial into Parts One and Two, as Dover has done here, still results in two huge books without all the images. It is important for readers to understand what they are getting. This is not a modernized retelling of the original story. It is the original text, in Victorian English, with all the grammar and spelling errors and plot holes included.
My review copy was a PDF of the print book. While the pages are high resolution, because they are reproductions of the original work the text itself is at times hard to read due to inconsistencies in the original source material. I cannot speak for mobi or epub versions of this book; though I have to image formatting them was a nightmare!
I’m glad Dover Publications took the time to restore Varney the Vampire for its historic and literary value. Those of us that are book buffs appreciate the care required to restore a classic like this. But casual readers are going to struggle with trying to actually read the text and may not really appreciate the story because of it.
Reviewer Note: I obtained a copy of the work through NetGalley.
