French Literature Reviews - 2026

The Vampire in 20th-Century Literature
Other Literary Studies

Jean Marigny. "Le Vampire dans la littérature du XXe siècle". Paris, Librairie Honoré-Champion, collection "Bibliothèque de littérature générale et comparée", n° 38, 1 vol., bound, published late June 2003

Of all the characters in fantasy literature, the vampire is undoubtedly the one that most dominates the contemporary imagination. Its omnipresence in literature, as well as in comic books, cinema, television, role-playing games, and even advertising, is in itself proof that it exerts an undeniable fascination on the general public. Is the vampire that has now become so familiar to us the same one that captivated the Romantics? Is there still a kinship between Bram Stoker's Dracula and the elegant postmodern predators imagined by Anne Rice? Why and how have literary genres as diverse as science fiction, detective fiction, children's literature, and even romance novels embraced these characters, who once seemed confined strictly to horror fiction? This book attempts to provide answers to these and many other questions, showing how our century—so rich in tragic events and global upheavals—has altered the perception of vampires, and seeking to define the new meanings the myth has acquired a century after the publication of "Dracula," in a world that has lost its certainties and is in search of
new guideposts.

The vampire figure has long occupied a central position within the Gothic tradition, evolving from the folkloric revenant into a complex literary archetype. By the 19th century, authors like Bram Stoker solidified the creature's place in the cultural consciousness. This study examines how the 20th century reshaped these foundations, moving the vampire beyond the boundaries of traditional horror fiction into genres such as science fiction, detective fiction, children's literature, and romance.

The text explores the transition from the classic 19th-century vampire to the characters found in later works. It addresses how global events and the loss of certainties have influenced the modern perception of the vampire and investigates the character's presence across diverse media. Readers interested in the history of the fantastic and the cultural evolution of literary archetypes may find this examination of the vampire's changing meanings in the 20th century relevant.