Safe Return Doubtful

First published 1872 – Irish – Gothic Romance

The classic story of a lesbian vampire written in 1872 reads as well today as it can ever have done, though I would have enjoyed being around for the furore and genuine shock amongst the public and the media when it was first released.

While I was reading this I listened to the most recent Screenshot podcast which was by chance on vampires, both hosts agreeing with the conclusion that almost all vampire films and stories boiled down to sex, and in many, horror is only a part of the entertainment, which is the case here.
The book is so famous that few will start reading it unaware of what it is about, though if one did, it is only late in the story that there is any horror, as such. For the large part, atmosphere builds and the (unknowing) reader may have their suspicions, but the focus is on the protagonist, the teenaged Laura, and her burgeoning infatuation with the house guest, the beautiful and cryptic Carmilla. For all we know, it’s a gothic romance, though slowly that element, that things may not be as they at first may seem, creep into the reader’s mind.

Le Fanu has done away with the Victorian view of women being possessions of men, relying on them and needing their constant protection, to write what certainly at the time was a feminist novel.
As in many great works there is plenty to discuss here, and I have enjoyed reading the view of critics over the 152 years since its publication, and they vary greatly, from the views I mention above, who see it as a feminist gothic romance that slowly burns into horror, to seeing Carmilla as a poor young lesbian girl who is hounded and finally murdered by the forces of the Patriarchy and the Church for daring to be different, so not a vampire at all.

Certainly the theme of emerging sexuality is strong, as the protagonist Laura experiences an awakening to her lesbianism as a result of events, regardless of the part played by Carmilla.
Fascinating and incredibly entertaining.

(Listened to on the Classic Tales Podcast, though I read it beforehand also.)

My GoodReads score 4 / 5