The Vampires. A Historical, Critical and Literary Essay

FAIVRE, Tony. The Vampires. A Historical, Critical and Literary Essay. Paris: Eric Losfeld, Le Terrain Vague, [1962]. First edition. Octavo, publisher's wrappers with original illustrated dust jacket featuring an engraving by Gustave Doré. A pioneering and fundamental study of the vampire myth through history, folklore and literature, from classical antiquity to Gothic Romanticism. The work analyzes the historical roots of vampirism in the Balkans, the eighteenth-century epidemics of vampiric hysteria, and the literary transformation of the myth from Polidori to Stoker. Published by the legendary publishing house Le Terrain Vague, known for its editions of surrealist, erotic and fantastic literature. Copy in good condition with dust jacket showing normal wear from use. A work sought after by collectors of Gothic literature and studies of the supernatural.