carmilla – Cannonball Read 17

It’s hard to resist a book described as “The Dark Sapphic Romance that Inspired Dracula”

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

June 21, 2025 by ElCicco 3 Comments

Originally serialized in the magazine The Dark Blue from 1871-72, Carmilla is the first vampire story. Not only did it serve as the inspiration for for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it was written by a woman. The novel is just over 150 pages long and is presented as a scientific account of events in the life of a young woman named Laura. The novel opens with an unknown intellectual explaining that he is including Laura’s case in volume 1 of a Dr. Hesselius’ collected papers. So […]

Ladies loving ladies and sucking blood in 1872.

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

May 26, 2022 by narfna 3 Comments

30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 2 Book 11/30 This sure was something, I tell you what. Before I get to the actual review, I do want to say that I am specifically referring to the version edited by Carmen Maria Machado, with an introduction and footnotes by her. Both things fundamentally changed the experience of reading this. I am still boggled in the mind that this is a book about lesbian vampires and their young female victims being seduced, and it was written in […]

You will think me cruel, very selfish, but love is always selfish; the more ardent the more selfish.

Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu

October 25, 2019 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

Ah yes, the original vampire lesbian destroying a young girl’s virtue myth made real here. Carmilla is the story of Laura, a young woman whose father takes in a young woman. She and the daughter become the best of friends and through her allure, their connection, and maybe some amount of glamoring, there’s a clear indication that the daughter has fallen in love with the young woman. Great! An early lesbian romance novel. Oh yeah, Carmilla is definitely a vampire and is slowly preying upon […]

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