This тАЬvigorous, witty look at the undead as cultural icons in 19th- and 20th-century England and AmericaтАЭ examines the many meanings of the vampire myth (Kirkus Reviews).
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From ByronтАЩs Lord Ruthven to Anne RiceтАЩs Lestat to the black bisexual heroine of Jewelle GomezтАЩs The Gilda Stories, vampires have taken many forms, capturing and recapturing our imaginations for centuries. In Our Vampires, Ourselves, Nina Auerbach explores the rich history of this literary and cultural phenomenon to illuminate how every age embraces the vampire it needsтАФand gets the vampire it deserves.
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Working with a wide range of texts, as well as movies and television, Auerbach follows the evolution of the vampire from 19th century England to 20th century America. Using the mercurial figure as a lens for viewing the last two hundred years of Anglo-American cultural history, тАЬthis seductive work offers profound insights into many of the urgent concerns of our timeтАЭ (Wendy Doniger, The Nation).