Sheridan Le Fanu - leading ghost-story writer of his day

Yet another Irish and Dublin-born author has been honoured with a Google Doodle. Sheridan Le Fanu (1814 - 1873) joins the ranks that include James Joyce, Flann O'Brien and most significantly, Bram Stoker. The occasion of this Google tribute is to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Described as the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century (Source: Wikipedia), he is widely credited with pioneering the genre of vampire fiction, directly influencing compatriot and fellow Dubliner, Bram Stoker in the composition of his classic work, Dracula. While not quite as well known as Stoker's oeuvre, Le Fanu's novella, Carmilla, preceded Dracula by more than 25 years. With its dark erotic overtones, it has been adapted many times and in different media since it was first published in 1871. In an age when vampire lore and legend has assumed a worldwide following, spawning a global industry of books, films, cultural iconography and so forth, it may surprise some to learn that the origins lie very much here, in Ireland.

"Carmilla" by David Henry Friston - English wikipedia via http://www.lacrypte.net/images/carmilla1.jpg.
Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was born in Dublin on 28 August, 1814. His place of birth is given as 45 Lower Dominick Street on Dublin's northside but his family moved soon thereafter, to the parish of Chapelizod in the vicinity of Phoenix Park. There is today, both a road and a park named after him in the Ballyfermot area of Dublin, close to where he grew up.

Born into a middle class family of literary distinction (Both his grandmother Alicia Sheridan LeFanu and his great-uncle Richard Brinsley Sheridan were playwrights (his niece Rhoda Broughton would become a successful novelist, according to Wikipedia) he struggled nevertheless, for most of his life with financial difficulties, leading to a varied but interesting career. Such circumstances probably lead to his support for popular causes of the day that carried a strong emphasis on social and political reform. He moved in circles that included Isaac Butt, Samuel Ferguson, John Mitchel, Thomas Francis Meagher.

Among his best known works, still widely read today, include Uncle Silas (1864) and In a Glass Darkly, a collection of short stories published shortly before his death that includes his seminal work, Carmilla.

Bram Stoker honoured with Google Doodle

For the second time in recent weeks an Irish writer has been honoured with a Google Doodle. The centenary of the death of Bram Stoker was observed earlier this year in April. Google however has chosen to commemorate his birth, with a doodle depicting Stoker's immortal creation (literally) of Count Dracula.

Stoker was born in Dublin. His early years were spent at 15 Marino Crescent, Clontarf, where he was bedridden until the age of 8 due to a mysterious illness. It was during this period of convalescence that the seeds of his future literary output were sown. His mother, who grew up in the west of Ireland and had witnessed first hand the horrors of the Great Famine in Ireland of the 1840s, recounted stories to him from that period. These obviously left a lasting impression, even when he regained his health.

Bram Stoker is arguably Ireland's most successful writer, although his reputation has been rather overlooked in his home country; a country that is generally proud if its literary accomplishments and heritage. This year however, on the centenary of his death, a Bram Stoker Festival has been inaugurated. The festival "aspires to honour his memory and achievements and to encourage a spirit of enquiry and curiosity about the creator of one of literatures most famous characters."

His fame rests chiefly on the novel Dracula, which has grown to become more than a literary masterpiece; it has in fact become a cultural icon and achieved a certain level of immortality (pardon the pun) among fans of the vampire horror genre.  According to the Bram Stoker Festival website:

Though when he died, not a single obituary mentioned his most famous work, today it has been translated into over fifty languages and Count Dracula has become the most filmed fictional character in movie history.

In fact, Stoker's literary output was prolific. Other works, such as The Lady of the Shroud or The Lair of the White Worm are still in print and have also been adapted for other media including TV an cinema.

Bram Stoker was born on this day, 8th November, in 1847.