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The Vampire and the Devil's Son
1723. The fearless Baron de Nossac returns from a daring military mission in Eastern Europe when, crossing the forests of Bohemia, he is captured by the legendary Black Huntsman, a 900-year-old wraith who is none other than the Devil's own son. Held prisoner in an enchanted castle, the Baron is then seduced by a female vampire who eerily resembles his dead wife... Written in 1852 by the creator of Rocambole, The Vampire and the Devil's Son is a significant contribution to the development of modern horror fiction and a foreshadowing of literary things to come, bringing together for the first time two major modern archetypes: the seductive female vampire and the Son of the Devil.
264 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
About the author
Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail
802 books62 followersPierre Alexis Joseph Ferdinand, vicomte de Ponson du Terrail (8 July 1829 - 20 January 1871) was a French writer. He was a prolific novelist, producing in the space of twenty years some seventy-three volumes, and is best remembered today for his creation of the fictional character of Rocambole.
Ponson du Terrail’s early works squarely belonged to the Gothic novel genre: his La Baronne Trépassée (1852) was a murky Ann Radcliffe-like tale of revenge in the macabre surroundings of 18th century Germany Black Forest. The novel was translated by Brian Stableford as The Vampire and the Devil's Son in 2007.
When Ponson du Terrail embarked in 1857 on writing the first novel of the Rocambole series, L’Héritage Mystérieux (also known as Les Drames de Paris) for the daily newspaper La Patrie, he merely meant to copy the success of Eugène Sue’s best-selling Les Mystères de Paris. Rocambole’s importance to Mystery fiction and Adventure novels cannot be underestimated, as it represents the transition from the old-fashioned Gothic novel to modern heroic fiction. The word rocambolesque has become common in French to label any kind of fantastic adventures, especially those with multiple new turns in the story.
Rocambole became a huge success, providing a constant and considerable source of revenue to Ponson du Terrail, who continued churning out his adventures. In total, he produced nine Rocambole novels. His other notable novels include Les Coulisses du monde (1853) and Le Forgeron de la Cour-Dieu (1869).
In August 1870, as Ponson du Terrail had embarked on a new Rocambole saga when Emperor Napoléon III surrendered to Germany. Ponson fled from Paris to his country estate near Orléans, where he gathered a group of like-minded companions and began a guerilla-style warfare, not unlike what Rocambole himself would have done. However, Ponson was soon forced to flee to Bordeaux after the Germans burned down his castle.
He died in Bordeaux in 1871, leaving the saga of Rocambole uncompleted and was buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris.
Ponson du Terrail’s early works squarely belonged to the Gothic novel genre: his La Baronne Trépassée (1852) was a murky Ann Radcliffe-like tale of revenge in the macabre surroundings of 18th century Germany Black Forest. The novel was translated by Brian Stableford as The Vampire and the Devil's Son in 2007.
When Ponson du Terrail embarked in 1857 on writing the first novel of the Rocambole series, L’Héritage Mystérieux (also known as Les Drames de Paris) for the daily newspaper La Patrie, he merely meant to copy the success of Eugène Sue’s best-selling Les Mystères de Paris. Rocambole’s importance to Mystery fiction and Adventure novels cannot be underestimated, as it represents the transition from the old-fashioned Gothic novel to modern heroic fiction. The word rocambolesque has become common in French to label any kind of fantastic adventures, especially those with multiple new turns in the story.
Rocambole became a huge success, providing a constant and considerable source of revenue to Ponson du Terrail, who continued churning out his adventures. In total, he produced nine Rocambole novels. His other notable novels include Les Coulisses du monde (1853) and Le Forgeron de la Cour-Dieu (1869).
In August 1870, as Ponson du Terrail had embarked on a new Rocambole saga when Emperor Napoléon III surrendered to Germany. Ponson fled from Paris to his country estate near Orléans, where he gathered a group of like-minded companions and began a guerilla-style warfare, not unlike what Rocambole himself would have done. However, Ponson was soon forced to flee to Bordeaux after the Germans burned down his castle.
He died in Bordeaux in 1871, leaving the saga of Rocambole uncompleted and was buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 28, 2011
Pierre-Alexis Ponson du Terrail enjoyed immense popularity in mid-19th century France. This was the great age of the romans feuilletons, potboilers published in serial form. Rocambole was his best-known work. The Vampire and the Devil’s Son (La Baronne trépassée) which appeared in book form in 1852 is of exceptional interest.
The romans feuilletons followed a definite formula, combining melodrama, sensation and romance. Plot coherence or realism were not essential and these were qualities that Ponson largely ignored. As long as they provided thrills and entertainment no-one was going to complain that the stories made little sense.
The Vampire and the Devil’s Son follows the misadventures of the Baron de Nossac. He is a typical nobleman of his time - brave, dissolute, feckless and charming. And in 1723, as this tale commences, more than a little financially embarrassed. He is awaiting confirmation of his appointment as governor of Brittany, but as that seems likely to fall though he decides it might be wise to find himself a rich wife. The daughter of a wealthy tax-farmer seems a suitable choice. To his surprise he finds that she’s not only rich but also rather charming, the sort of woman with whom he could easily fall in love. As we soon discover, de Nossac has a remarkable propensity for falling in love
There is however a complication. The Baron’s mistress has extracted from an unusual promise, and being a gentleman he must keep this promise. He must agree to be her save for a period of 24 hours, at any tome of her choosing. It is particularly unfortunate that the time she dies choose is his wedding night. Very unfortunate indeed - his bride is so upset she leaves his chateau in the middle of the night, catches a chill and dies.
The Baron’s adventures now take a veery strange turn indeed. He encounters the mysterious Black Huntsman, who claims to be nothing less than the son of the Devil himself. And he encounters Gretchen, a woman who resembles his dead wife to an uncanny degree, and who proves to be a vampire. But there are many many plot twists still to come, his late wife proves to have more than one double, many of the characters he encounters are not at all who they appear to be, and de Nossac begins to seriously doubt his own sanity.
The reader is also left wondering about the reality of the events described, or at least wondering about their true nature.
Ponson du Terrail was very much influenced by the gothic fictions of Ann Radcliffe but this is gothic with added weird hallucinatory qualities.
Translator Brian Stableford proves both an introduction and an afterword to the Black Coat Press edition and makes some extremely interesting observations in this odd novel. He points out that the author was to some degree constrained by the conventions of the gothic as well as the more general literary convention of his day, and suggests that a modern reader might well interpret the story quite differently as compared to a reader in 1852. Stableford sees the author as being on the verge of several innovative breakthroughs, but being unable to carry them through in a complete manner.
A strange but highly diverting little tale, with some genuinely macabre moments. One of the many forgotten treasures of 19th century French gothic. Highly recommended.
The romans feuilletons followed a definite formula, combining melodrama, sensation and romance. Plot coherence or realism were not essential and these were qualities that Ponson largely ignored. As long as they provided thrills and entertainment no-one was going to complain that the stories made little sense.
The Vampire and the Devil’s Son follows the misadventures of the Baron de Nossac. He is a typical nobleman of his time - brave, dissolute, feckless and charming. And in 1723, as this tale commences, more than a little financially embarrassed. He is awaiting confirmation of his appointment as governor of Brittany, but as that seems likely to fall though he decides it might be wise to find himself a rich wife. The daughter of a wealthy tax-farmer seems a suitable choice. To his surprise he finds that she’s not only rich but also rather charming, the sort of woman with whom he could easily fall in love. As we soon discover, de Nossac has a remarkable propensity for falling in love
There is however a complication. The Baron’s mistress has extracted from an unusual promise, and being a gentleman he must keep this promise. He must agree to be her save for a period of 24 hours, at any tome of her choosing. It is particularly unfortunate that the time she dies choose is his wedding night. Very unfortunate indeed - his bride is so upset she leaves his chateau in the middle of the night, catches a chill and dies.
The Baron’s adventures now take a veery strange turn indeed. He encounters the mysterious Black Huntsman, who claims to be nothing less than the son of the Devil himself. And he encounters Gretchen, a woman who resembles his dead wife to an uncanny degree, and who proves to be a vampire. But there are many many plot twists still to come, his late wife proves to have more than one double, many of the characters he encounters are not at all who they appear to be, and de Nossac begins to seriously doubt his own sanity.
The reader is also left wondering about the reality of the events described, or at least wondering about their true nature.
Ponson du Terrail was very much influenced by the gothic fictions of Ann Radcliffe but this is gothic with added weird hallucinatory qualities.
Translator Brian Stableford proves both an introduction and an afterword to the Black Coat Press edition and makes some extremely interesting observations in this odd novel. He points out that the author was to some degree constrained by the conventions of the gothic as well as the more general literary convention of his day, and suggests that a modern reader might well interpret the story quite differently as compared to a reader in 1852. Stableford sees the author as being on the verge of several innovative breakthroughs, but being unable to carry them through in a complete manner.
A strange but highly diverting little tale, with some genuinely macabre moments. One of the many forgotten treasures of 19th century French gothic. Highly recommended.
January 27, 2011
Vampire and Devil´s son is Brian Stableford´s English translation of La baronne trépassée by Pierre-Alexis Ponson du Terrail (1852). Hero is typically superfluous, but, set in 1723, it has some gorgeous Gothic imagery - a castle, Black Huntsman haunting Bohemian forest, a seductive female vampire, beautiful and pure maidens...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews