The Diary of Dr John William Polidori 1816

This is a new edition of The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori originally published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews of London England. A fascinating journey into history and literature The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori is Polidoris account of his travels from London to Switzerland with Lord Byron an English poet and one of the leading figures of the Romantic Movement in the early 19th century. In the summer of 1816 Lord Byron and his guests Percy Bysshe Shelley Mary Godwin (Shelley) and her half-sister Claire Clermont and Dr. John William Polidori were staying at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva Switzerland. The group decided to have a friendly competition to see who could write the best horror story. It was the genesis of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and of Polidoris The Vampyre: A Tale. But the story doesnt end here. Polidori went on to travel through Switzerland and Italy leaving us with his memoirsa rich portrait of a time long gone. John William Polidori (1795-1821) was for a brief period the personal physician to Lord Byron. His manuscript was published in 1911 by his nephew William Michael Rossetti ninety years after his uncles death. The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori is one of those rare jewels of literature. Part of the project Immortal Literature Series of classic literature this is a new edition of the classic work published in 1911 - not a facsimile reprint. Obvious typographical errors have been carefully corrected and the entire text has been reset and redesigned by Pen House Editions to enhance readability. The eBook edition was designed in an elegant style and set to take full advantage of the readers'' features. About the Author An English writer and critic William Michael Rossetti (1829-1919) was the brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti and an original member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He edited with invaluable explanatory notes the diaries of his maternal uncle John William Polidorithe fascinating account of the few weeks in 1816 which were essential to the development of the Romantic Movement during which Polidoris The Vampyre: A Talethe first vampire novel published in Englishand Mary Shelley''s Frankenstein arose from a storytelling competition at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland.