I bought this months ago because...vampires. But also, this particular edition was edited, and included a preface by, Carmen Maria Machado, whose previous works (Her Body and Other Parties and In the Dream House) are both objectively phenomenal and subjectively favorites of mine. And then, I requested (and received!) an ARC of An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson from NetGalley. (I was really into A Dowry of Blood last year around this time - Goodreads is calling it a cult hit and I can't really argue with that - so I was super hype about this one.) Since one of the MCs is named Carmilla, and it is, of course, a gothic vampire story, I felt like it was exactly the right time to read Carmilla myself, so it's fresh in my mind for comparisons and parallels. 

 

In a remote part of what is now Austria, Laura is a young woman living an isolated life, with just her ailing father and two attendants. Excitement arrives on their doorstep one day, as a horse-drawn carriage crash results in a new temporary member of their household: Carmilla. Having spent so much time alone, Alura immediately jumps into a close friendship with Carmilla, maintaining it even through Carmilla's oddities, moods, evasions and ever-more-noticeable volatility. However, as Laura is haunted by strange nightmares and nighttime visions and begins to grow weak and ill, and a neighboring nobleman comes visiting bearing a strange and terrible story, everyone may finally have to admit that Carmilla is more than what she seems. 

 

I really didn't know until recently that this novel pre-dates Dracula by about 25 years (based on original publication date). So cool! And while I am not an expert on Dracula nor on all original vampire-related texts, it was really interesting to see (even to an untrained eye) how many similarities and parallels of plot and theme there are. Bu here in Carmilla, the metaphors of sexual awakening, sapphic specifically, that dominate the relationship between Laura and Carmilla, are so strong and central. And I loved the idea of a threat/”evil” that is beautiful and captivating and you invite right into your home without the original fear invoked in Dracula (much more nuanced). Machado addresses this in her introduction (and I'll get to that in a moment), but really, it is fascinating to me that no one at the time could conceptualize or imagine that's what was happening for Laura. Just...lolz...at all the men. 

 

As I said, I also want to address Machado's introduction. It was short and superb. It has been awhile since I read anything by her and I had forgotten, a bit, her skill with words. It is academic and intelligent to an extent that requires real attention. And yet, if you give it that attention, it is accessible and carries a wryly humorous insight. Plus, bonus, the footnotes where she adds comments that are more than historical FYIs, like the “If this isn’t an orgasm, I’m a monkey's uncle” style ones, made me snort-laugh in the best way. I haven't read Carmilla before, but I am so thrilled to have been able to read it for the first time with the lens Machado adds: that of the [historical] context that this is fiction based on reality, a real correspondence that was found! It really added even more credence to the sexual coming of age metaphor, and I really enjoyed "searching" on my own, as I read, for what was left out - the details of this sexual and sexuality awakening that are carefully hidden and glossed over by a storyteller (and thus the voice of power) that would not give space for a woman to live/have/speak the truth of their own experience, imposing rather what society expects it to be and repressing everything else. I love literary criticism and unpacking that does not assign unwitting metaphor and symbolism, but rather legitimately unpacks what the writing and style says about the writer/the time/the biases, etc. And Machado does that with aplomb here, truly enhancing my reading experience. 

 

Back to the novel itself. I love a good traditional vampire story and this is one of the first…fascinating to see how so many myths and legends grew from this one tale. I recognize how so many popular (and less popular, but equally intriguing) vampire tropes began and grew and developed over time and I found that very cool. The gothic vibes are also all there - isolated settings, big castles, unexplored woods, cemeteries, nightmares, mysterious ladies/visitors - and really set the stage, a quality one, for all the gothic vampire novels that have come since. On this note, the illustrations were fantastic and really added to the atmospheric-ness of the novel. One final note, the older, "classical" writing style is a tougher one, mostly because I am not really used to it. So I was glad this wasn't too long, if I'm being honest. 

 

I was completely engrossed, for the short time it took me to read this. The lonely, haunting ambiance was spot on, both environmentally (the setting) and interpersonally (the characters and relationships). Laura's narration of the events was the exact right voice to hear it in, as the centrally affected character, as well as considering the reframed interpretation of the story as a coming of age/sexuality narrative (again - it changes everything that these letters from "Laura" were actually letters a real person wrote and her words were both stolen and edited without her approval/permission before being published). And, of course and as always...I love vampires.   

 

“But curiosity is a restless and unscrupulous passion…” 

 

“I experienced a strange, tumultuous excitement that was pleasurable, ever and anon, mingled with a vague sense of fear and disgust. I had no distinct thoughts about her while such scenes lasted, but I was conscious of a love growing into adoration, and also of abhorrence. This, I know, is a paradox, but I can make no other attempt to explain the feeling.” 

 

“But, I suspect, in all lives there are certain emotional scenes – those in which our passions have been most wildly and terribly roused – that are above all others the most vaguely and dimly remembered.” (Ah yes, the emotional reactions to a feeling of an attraction that runs counter to societal norms…how was this ever read as anything else) 

 

“Love will have its sacrifices. No sacrifice without blood.” 

 

“At another time, or in another case, it might have provoked my ridicule. But into what quackeries will not people rush for a last chance, where all accustomed means have failed, and the life of a loved one is at stake?” 

A classic tale, older than time.

We all know Dracula, his real life niece Bathory ,and their reigns of terror. But what if there was someone else waiting in the dark? Camilla is charming, beautiful and witty but something dark is lingering behind her sparkling eyes. Meet Laura, a lonely young woman who wants nothing more than companionship and follow her tale of terror!