06 November 2014, The Tablet

Lake of horrors


Frankenstein and The Vampyre BBC2

 
It is rare  to be able to pinpoint the moment at which a cultural archetype was created; but at the Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva, two came into being at once. In 1816, Lord Byron rented the expensive house for himself ; four young friends, escaping scandal in Britain, lived nearby. Frankenstein and The Vampyre (1 November) was a solid documentary recounting how two of the group created characters that between them launched a whole fictional genre.The scene at the villa, gently dramatised here, was reminiscent of the comparable goings-on at the Villa Nellcôte in Villefranche-sur-Mer in France, where the Rolling Stones gathered in 1971/72 to make Exile On Main Street. The little group in Switzerland were very like rock stars and their hangers-on, as several commentators here obse
Get Instant Access

Continue Reading


Register for free to read this article in full


Subscribe for unlimited access

From just £30 quarterly

  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  The full weekly edition in print and digital including our 179 years archive.
  PDF version to view on iPad, iPhone or computer.

Already a subscriber? Login