10 h 28 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the terror hiding inside polite society draws you closer instead of driving you away?
In The Vampire, Paul Féval brings the undead into Paris in the days of Napoleon. Soldiers, secrets and old fears fill a city marked by revolution and war. Families have lost people, fortunes and certainties. Against this unsettled backdrop, a threat hides inside polite society and feeds on desire.
Obsession drives the terror: attraction matters as much as force. Féval draws on the Gothic tradition to turn desire into a source of dread. His storytelling favours scenes, suspense and strong feeling over long reflection, pulling you toward a world where what draws people close can also place them in danger.
What you’ll discover
- Paris under Napoleon Enter a city where soldiers and secrets share the streets with fears that refuse to fade.
- Terror behind polite manners Meet an undead threat that hides within society rather than standing apart from it.
- The pull of obsession Explore how attraction gives the monster power and turns desire into a source of fear.
- Scenes charged with suspense Follow storytelling that moves quickly, placing shivers and strong feeling ahead of long reflection.
- An earlier vampire tradition Discover how a French storyteller imagines the undead within the Gothic fiction of his time.
Who will love it
Perfect for readers who love Gothic chills, old Paris streets, secret societies and swordplay, and for anyone who enjoys history mixed with legend, romance and a good ghostly puzzle.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Paris in 1804 craves legends and fear
- A tavern profits from the panic
- A father follows his daughter through Paris
- Jealousy drives Angèle to a boundary stone
- Curiosity leads René to a lonely house
- Lila offers love and a vampire legend
- A windowless room holds a nightmare
- The police chase their own fears
- Obsession, blood and gold run through the tale
Who’s who
- René de KervozA young Breton law student, engaged to Angèle, who falls under the spell of a mysterious woman and is nephew to Georges Cadoudal.
- AngèleJean-Pierre's adoptive daughter, gentle and faithful, who follows René through Paris to learn the truth about his changed heart.
- Jean-Pierre Sévérin, called GâteloupA fencing master and keeper of the Morgue, strong and kind, who protects his family and hunts the vampire.
- Germain PatouA tiny, fearless medical student who admires Samuel Hahnemann, believes in vampires and loves Jean-Pierre, who supports his education.
- Countess Marcian GregoryiA dazzling Hungarian noblewoman with changing hair who leads the League of Virtue and is called the vampire by Paris.
- LilaA dark-haired enchantress who claims to be the countess's sister, wins René's love and wants to meet his uncle.
- Georges CadoudalA cheerful Breton rebel who hides under the name Morinière and plans to face Napoleon in single combat.
- Monsieur BerthellemotThe vain secretary general of the police prefecture, who takes notes constantly and dreams of becoming prefect.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 10 h 28 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear El vampiro in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
El vampiro
by Paul Féval · 1865
In 1804 Paris, fish swarm the Seine in midwinter and a whisper of a female vampire spreads.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What if the fish crowding a wintry river are feeding on something nobody dares to name? In the winter of 1804, anglers line the Seine in Paris, and a rumor of a female vampire spreads from street to street.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Paris in 1804 craves legends and fear
The story opens in the early months of 1804, when Paris is jittery and fond of tales that raise goose bumps. Féval says the age was far more legendary than people believe. Ann Radcliffe's terrors were the fashion, and readers chased fear the way others chase bread.
Into this mood comes a rumor. Fish are crowding the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, near the Quai de Béthune, in the dead of winter. Anglers line the bank, and among them stand failed poets, ruined inventors and a notary, all hoping to hook a diamond ring. Gossips say the fish feed on something dark, and one word grows louder each day: a female vampire.
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What is The Vampire by Paul Féval about?
It is a Gothic tale set in Paris in 1804. A rumor of a female vampire spreads while a young man falls under a mysterious countess's spell and an old fencing master searches for missing friends and for his daughter.
Who is the vampire in The Vampire?
Paris believes it is Countess Marcian Gregoryi, whose hair changes from black to blonde. The book plays with whether she is a monster from Hungarian legend or a woman leading a conspiracy against Napoleon.
What does In life, death; in death, life mean?
It is the motto on the countess's crest, handkerchief and bedroom. It sums up the vampire's condition of living on other people's lives and echoes the book's themes of blood, gold and power.
The author
Paul Féval
1816–1887 · French novelist and playwright
French novelist and dramatist 1817-1887.
More by Paul Féval
All 2 booksMore like this
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