Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Carmilla Illustrated Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Camilla is an 1872 Gothic novella by Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Faun and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bran Stoker's Dracula (1897) by 26 years. First published as a serial in The Dark Blue (1871-72), the story is narrated by a young woman preyed upon by a female vampire named Camilla, later revealed to be Mir calla, Countess Einstein (Camilla is an anagram of Mir calla). The character is a prototypical example of the lesbian vampire, expressing romantic desires toward the protagonist, and is depicted as a trait of antagonism in line with the contemporary views of homosexuality. The story is often anthologised and has been adapted many times in film and other media