Vampire Grooms and Spectre Brides: The Marriage of French and British Gothic Literature, 1789-1897

by Tyler R. Tichelaar

Many British and French Gothic novels are being rediscovered today that are part of the second Gothic Golden Age, an age too often overlooked, but integral to the evolution of the Gothic. While nationalism influences these works, they are a melting pot of ideas and styles from both nations. Consequently, the only way to truly understand the Gothic tradition in British literature is to understand that tradition in French literature and vice-versa.
In Vampire Grooms and Spectre Brides, Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD, argues there is, in fact, no such thing as French Gothic or British Gothic literature, or even British or French literature during the nineteenth century. Works like The Count of Monte Cristo, Dracula, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame can be bett er understood when placed within the context of the blended tradition since novels in both languages and in translation continually crisscrossed the English Channel, only to return in new iterations throughout the century. From John Polidori to Paul Féval and Bram Stoker, and from Mrs. Radcliff e to Eugène Sue and Charles Dickens, the Gothic produced some of the strangest, most fascinating, and most significant novels ever written.
In bringing together these works, some only recently translated or not fully translated at all, Vampire Grooms and Spectre Brides provides a missing context that will help redefine Gothic literature for future generations and serve as a blood transfusion to some works long thought dead.
British and French authors discussed Sade * Radcliff e * Lewis * Scott * Polidori * Bérard * Nodier * Hugo * Ainsworth * Quinet * Sue * Féval * Reynolds * Dumas * Bulwer-Lytt on * Dickens * Nizet * Verne * Stoker * and many more!
More information at www.GothicWanderer.com

581 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2023

Reviews

[Wade Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much has been written on the history of vampires as folklore and how it evolved over the years to the version now popularly accepted. What hasn’t been covered as much, and what this book does a wonderful job of detailing, is how that archetypical version was born as much, if not more, from the literary side, with the works of both English and French authors feeding off each other (no pun intended) to create this image.
All of these roads ultimately led to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which solidified it, creating a unifying blueprint of the vampire archetype. Films, of course, later defined it again into a visual template, but without the Dracula novel that wouldn’t have happened and without the building blocks of the lore from English and French authors, Dracula wouldn’t have been the same either.
The history of these works and how they developed is fascinating in itself, and if you are as into the Gothic as much as I am, you will come away from this with a whole stack of novels to read, thanks to the highly researched and detailed work of author Tyler Tichelaar, PhD.
Along the way you’ll learn of City Mysteries and other genres that all connected and contributed to the melting pot that developed into the Gothic as we now know it. For lovers of Gothic literature or for those just getting interested, this is a great way to learn how the genre was formed with a lot of stories for you to dig up to read alone on a windswept night haunted by mist and menacing shadows.

[Robert burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a reader of both gothic literature and vampire novels this was the perfect book for me. Tyler Tichelaar’s Vampire Grooms and Spectre Brides traces the history of the gothic and the literary history of the vampire novels. Tyler not only uses British writers, but how the French authors had an influence on Bram Stoker.
You will read about Victorian, and French authors whose novels have a gothic influence. There are a lot of surprises throughout this book
Completely readable and enjoyable, this is one book you should have on your reference shelf.

[Sue Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fine work of literature stands as a strong foundation for any writer, scholar, or reader interested in Gothic literature. The genius behind this amazing book is evident in every page, but more than that, Tichelaar's own love of his subject comes through as a rare gift to those who share a fascination with this genre. I can't begin to imagine where Tichelaar found much of his research material. Many of the books he dissects in this treatise are obscure and must be difficult to come by, many available only as a French edition. Partly because of that research and partly because of how he shares story lines, traces influence, and includes biographical information about the featured novelists, Vampire Grooms and Spectre Brides is also highly entertaining. I'm quite sure it will garner accolades through the years as one of the finest pieces of research in the literary arena of Gothic novels. Thank you, Tyler Tichelaar, for the work and the thought--and obviously the years--you put into the creation of a book that belongs in the research libraries of universities, writers, and scholars throughout the world.