Penguin Speculative Fiction Special

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries in his client's castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England: a ship runs aground on the shores of Whitby, its crew vanished; beautiful Lucy Westenra slowly succumbs to a mysterious, wasting illness, her blood drained away; and the lunatic Renfield raves about the imminent arrival of his 'master'. In the ensuing battle of wills between the sinister Count and a determined group of adversaries – led by the intrepid vampire hunter Abraham van Helsing – Bram Stoker created a masterpiece of the horror genre, probing into questions of identity, sanity and the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

A Penguin Classics hardback edition, with a Foreword by Robert Eggers and an Introduction by Karen Winstead.

The first vampire short story in English, The Vampyre by John Polidori, and the first vampire novella, Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, are published together in one hardback volume. The Vampyre (1819) features Lord Ruthven, a deathly pale yet fatally charismatic nobleman who preys on women of high society. It is generally considered as the first fully developed vampire narrative in English literature. Carmilla (1871–2) by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is a nineteenth-century Gothic novella featuring a protagonist who typifies the long line of female and lesbian vampires in literature, movies, television series and artwork. In a castle deep in the Austrian forest, Laura, a young woman, leads an isolated life with her father. A horse-drawn carriage crashes and an unexpected guest, the mysterious and seductive Carmilla, enters their lives.

C. L. Moore created the fiercely brave heroine Jirel of Joiry for Weird Tales, a magazine that introduced readers to the writings of some of the most legendary authors in speculative fiction. With fiery red hair, lion-yellow eyes and a mighty two-handed sword, Jirel’s quick wit and defiant demeanour immediately entranced readers and cemented her as one of the first and most iconic characters in the sword-and-sorcery genre.

Featuring seven classic Jirel tales and three of Moore’s finest short stories — 'Shambleau', 'No Woman Born', and 'Vintage Season' — this collection celebrates one of the most influential speculative fiction authors who changed the rules of the game for early twentieth-century fantastic literature.