Safe Return Doubtful

First published 1885

A young British officer, wounded in the Carlist civil wars that afflicted Spain in the mid 19th century, goes to an isolated dilapidated mansion in the mountains to recover. There he falls in love with Olalla, the beautiful daughter of a decaying aristocratic family. She slowly reciprocates but decides, in that age old Romantic tradition, that they can never be together.
After some considerable time of avoidance the officer meets the mother, who may or may not be a vampire, though she seems to spend each day lounging on the patio in the sun.

This is an ambiguous tale by its very nature, the mother may just be a religious nut. But far more enjoyment will come if the reader chooses to see it as erotic gothic horror.

The officer has been lured to the obscure retreat by his doctor by way of recuperation, ‘to renew his blood’ are the doctor’s words. Soon after his arrival he is taking ‘vigorous exercise and healthily renewing the current of my blood’. Several times he is warned to leave, by Olalla, by her simple brother Felipe, and by the mother, but he is resolute and determined to stay; almost to the extent that one wonders who the vampire is, the mother, Olalla in training, or the officer himself.
At the back of the reader’s mind is always is Olalla’s story an elborate ado about nothing.

Vampirism aside, the nature of the relationship between Olalla and the officer is at the heart of this under-appreciated story. It is anything but normal, disturbing even, and what makes it so readable. For example, when they first meet, they ‘stood face to face, drinking each other in’, and ‘she followed me, with her great, thirsting eyes’.

For anyone who enjoys Gothic, it is a real treat.

It’s available as an audio book for free at the Classic Tales Podcast.

My GoodReads score 4 / 5