10 h 28 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 28 minPaperback · 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
Readers who love candlelit gothic tales, old Paris streets, secret passages and ghost stories with a sly humor, and anyone curious how a vampire legend could reach Napoleon's Paris.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Paris laughs at its own fear
- A guardian follows the watchers
- A golden heart commands respect
- Desire draws René toward conspiracy
- A vampire story conceals a trap
- Jean-Pierre asks power to protect others
- Obsession feeds on other people's lives
- Humor keeps company with horror
- Kindness stands against a shared appetite
Who’s who
- Jean-Pierre SévérinA fencing master called Gâteloup and keeper of the Paris dead, he searches for the children he raised and fights with a stick.
- René de KervozA young Breton law student and Cadoudal's nephew, he loves Angèle yet follows a veiled stranger across Paris.
- AngèleThe gentle foster daughter of the Sévérins and René's promised wife, she watches in the cold and refuses to give up hope.
- Countess Marcian GregoryiA dazzling Hungarian noblewoman whose hair changes color, she charms priests, foreigners and the police prefect for her own ends.
- LilaA dark-haired woman who looks like the countess, she tells René the legend of Addhéma and claims to love him.
- Germain PatouA tiny, quick-witted medical student and follower of Hahnemann, he spies for his old guardian and believes in everything.
- BerthellemotThe vain secretary general of the police prefecture, he takes notes on all things and longs to replace his chief.
- EzekielThe sly keeper of the tavern called the Miraculous Catch, he serves the countess and the police at once.
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The Vampire
by Paul Féval · 1865
In winter 1804, Paris anglers fish the Seine for a diamond ring while a vampire rumor spreads.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“In life, death; in death, life.”
In short
Paris, winter 1804. Fishermen crowd the Quai de Béthune with lines in the freezing Seine, hoping to land a diamond ring like the one the tavern keeper Ezekiel pulled from a sea monster.
The Vampire at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 55 min4 h 40 min fast, 7 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 84,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1865by Paul Féval
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Paris trembles and laughs at one rumor
In early 1804 Paris is full of whispers. People say that twenty young foreigners, all rich and new to the city, have vanished without a trace. The police deny it, but the louder they deny, the more the suburbs believe. The unseen culprit gets a name, the Vampire.
The first strange sign is the fish. Along the Quai de Béthune, anglers pull pike and barbel from the winter Seine. Many care little for fish. They hope for a diamond signet ring like the one Ezekiel is said to have found in a sea monster, and his tavern, the Miraculous Catch, grows rich on that dream.
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Which edition is right for me
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Details
- First published
- 1865
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 45 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Féval, Paul. The Vampire. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-vampire.
Féval, P. (2026). The vampire. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-vampire (Original work published 1865)
Féval, Paul. The Vampire. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-vampire.
@book{feval2026vampire,
author = {Féval, Paul},
title = {The Vampire},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-vampire},
note = {First published 1865}
}
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What is The Vampire by Paul Féval about?
It follows a rumor of a female vampire in Paris in 1804. A fencing master, his foster daughter, her fiancé and a young medical student are drawn into a hunt that crosses churches, taverns and a plot against Napoleon.
Who is Countess Marcian Gregoryi?
She is a stunning Hungarian noblewoman whose hair seems to change color. She marries or promises to marry rich young foreigners, moves in churches and the police prefecture, and stands at the center of the Vampire rumor.
What does the motto In life, death; in death, life mean?
It is the family motto on the countess's crest, her handkerchiefs and her rooms. It points to the vampire legend of a creature that lives by taking life and who is never wholly alive nor dead.
The author
Paul Féval
1816–1887 · French novelist and playwright
French novelist and dramatist 1817-1887.
“In life, death; in death, life.”
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