Review Dracula & Other Literary Vampires

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
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I just discovered this book, which originally outsold Dracula, having been published in the same year.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beetle_(novel)


The Beetle
Author Richard Marsh
Genre Horror fiction
Publication date
September 1897
Media type Print
The Beetle (or The Beetle: A Mystery) is an 1897 horror novel by the British writer Richard Marsh, in which a polymorphous Ancient Egyptian entity seeks revenge on a British Member of Parliament. It initially out-sold Bram Stoker's similar horror story Dracula, which appeared the same year.

Upon its publication The Beetle was considered more popular than Bram Stoker's Dracula which came out the same year 1897. Later in the 20th century the popularity of Marsh's text decreased. Only recently have scholars retaken an interest in Marsh's work and decided to re-examine the text for new insights.Margree reads The Beetle as a statement on gender identity and sexuality. Allin reads into Marsh's work as being a commentary piece on the fragility of masculinity and the decaying of imperialism. And Dove's interpretation focuses on "the turn of the century" and the fear surrounding it of colonialism and gender/sexual identity

Film, stage and radio adaptations
In November 1919 a British silent film, The Beetle, was released, directed by Alexander Butler and starring Maudie Dunham and Hebden Foster.[8] Nine years later, in October 1928, a stage adaptation by J. B. Fagan opened at the Strand Theatre, with Catherine Lacey in the cast.[9] A further adaptation, written by Roger Danes, was broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in 1997 and repeated in 2014.


Happily, it is available free on kindle.......


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beetle-Richard-Marsh-ebook/dp/B008470DZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543959194&sr=8-1&keywords=the+beetle+marsh
 
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