The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori - 1816 - Relating to Byron, Shelley, Etc. Edited and Elucidated by William Michael Rossetti

by John Polidori

First published in 1911, this vintage book contains extracts from the diary of John William Polidori, and chiefly those parts relating to his relationships with Byron, Shelley, and others of the Romantic movement. John William Polidori (7 September 1795 – 24 August 1821) was an English writer and physician famous for his associations with the Romantic movement and for being, as many maintain, the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. His most notable work was the short story "The Vampyre" (1819). This volume will appeal to those with an interest in the life of Polidori and especially those who he associated with, namely Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Other notable works by this author “Cajetan” (1816), “Boadicea” (1816), and “On the Punishment of Death” (1816). Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction of the author.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Romanticism, Classics, Biography, Research

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Peter Vicaire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I'd check this book out for some screenplay research on early nineteenth century dialogue as well as my interest in that June 1816 night in Switzerland when Frankenstein's Monster and "Dracula" (or at least a very early literary incarnation) were born. It was an interesting, quick read and illustrated the short, strained relationship Polidori had with Lord Byron - whom he had been hired by to be a travelling companion and physician. I had read elsewhere that he and Byron had been lovers but there's absolutely no indication of that here; rather, there are numerous reference by Polidori to the visual quality (or lack thereof...) of the women in their extensive travels. There's also some interesting foreshadowing of Polidori's impending suicide (e.g., he cried a great deal when alone) only a few years after his diary entries ended. Ultimately, the book is a good snapshop of a man who was one of the earliest in English literature to write about vampires (preceding Stoker by almost 80 years) and also who, for a brief time, flew with some literary giants and got his wings clipped in the process.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, if possibly unreliable, diary of Dr. John Polidori, who was for a short time Lord Byron's doctor and traveling companion. Polidori's sister transcribed the diary and admitted editing out some unsavory pieces. She then destroyed the original manuscript. His nephew then edited and published his aunt's transcript.

Having said that, it was fun to read his entries that coincided with Byron working on Childe Harold and Mary Wollstonecraft working on Frankenstein.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always a little tricky to rate a diary. It reflects the author’s perception of things, and sometimes we think we’d have done it differently. John William Polidori was hired to write a diary of his travels with Lord Byron in the year 1816. This was, of course, the year that Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Godwin (soon to be Shelley) met Byron outside Geneva and the party began writing “ghost stories.” I suspect that’s why most people read this account.

Polidori’s focus seems to have been elsewhere. He mentions the contest a couple of times in passing. Later, of course, after his death, he became famous as the author of “The Vampyre.” Not the first vampire story, it was nevertheless an influential one. The vampyre in it is based on Lord Byron. The two had a rocky relationship. In the diary, as published, Polidori owns up to the fault being his own.

The diary, which is missing many weeks in total, continues after Byron dismissed Polidori and the latter traveled in Italy, where he had some family. So, how does one rate someone else’s diary? AS my blog post (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) on it states, although Polidori seems to have missed the point, he has left behind a poignant account of a young man (he was twenty at the time). For this he deserves four stars.

[Ellie]

Polidori can't catch a break even in the publication of his own diary. It's littered with his irritating nephew's asides, suppositions and defences of Byron's thoughts and actions, casting the poor man once again into Byron's shadow.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Interesting, fun to read!

[T. Strange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful turns of phrase and word usage (though some of them seem made up, which I enjoy). Very amusing; I laughed out loud several times. An interesting historical travel guide, very neat to read about somewhere I have been (Cologne) 200 years before I was there. Also interesting to read about Napoleon as recent history/current events.


(Note: This did not help my Gothic inspired shipping of Polidori/Byron)