When a young Englishman by the name of Aubrey meets the mysterious new arrival in London society Lord Ruthven, the two embark on a trip to Rome. They are soon separated, only to meet once again at the scene of what appears to be a vampire attack in Greece. John William Polidori (1795 - 1821) was an English physician and writer most famous for writing this book, which is widely acknowledged as being the first modern vampire story. It was originally and erroneously attributed to Lord Byron, but both Byron and Polidori confirmed that the story is Polidori's. "The Vampyre" will appeal to lovers of horror and macabre fiction, and it is not to be missed by the discerning collector. Other notable works by this author include: "Cajetan" (1816), "Boadicea" (1816), and "On the Punishment of Death.