Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

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Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (born August 28, 1814 in Dublin ; † February 10, 1873 there ) was an Irish writer and one of the best-known authors of classical horror literature .

Life

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was born in Dublin as the son of the Protestant clergyman Thomas Philip Le Fanu, who was of Huguenot descent, and his wife Emma Lucretia nee. Dobbin born. He later studied at Trinity College in Dublin law . After graduating, he became more interested in journalism and published his first short story, The Ghost and the Bonesetter , in Dublin University Magazine in 1838 .

In 1844 he married Susanna Bennett, daughter of a lawyer. This marriage had four children: Eleanor (1845), Emma (1846), Thomas (1847) and George (1854). His wife suffered from depression and hysterical attacks as the years went by. In 1858 she died unexpectedly. Sheridan Le Fanu felt deeply guilty and stopped writing for the time being. Only after the death of his mother (1868) did he overcome this life crisis.

The family home of Le Fanu in Merrion Square, Dublin.

In 1861 he had acquired the Dublin University Magazine and had become editor. The London publisher Richard Bentley advised him to choose an English setting and the present for his stories in order to become more attractive to the English reading public. This goal was achieved with the publication of Uncle Silas in 1864.

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu died in Merrion Square at the age of 58 and was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery in Dublin.

Literary work

His numerous stories often deal with ghosts or other eerie apparitions. The best known is probably Carmilla , the story of a lesbian vampire . The story takes place in Styria . It appeared in the collection In a Glass Darkly (1872) and formed the basis for Bram Stoker's novel Dracula and also for numerous film adaptations. The British film production company Hammer-Films alone processed the story three times in the early 1970s: the so-called Karnstein trilogy includes the films Crypt of the Vampires , Only Vampires Kiss Bloody and Dracula's Witch Hunt .

Works

  • The Purcell Papers . 1838-1840.
  • The Cock and Anchor . 1845.
  • The Fortunes of Colonel Torlogh O'Brien . 1847.
  • Schalk the painter . 1851, German Schalken der Maler . Translated from English by Heiko Postma. jmb, Hannover 2010, ISBN 978-3-940970-78-7 .
  • The House by the Churchyard . 1863, German The house near the churchyard . Translated from English by Trude Steinberg. Manesse, Zurich 1977, ISBN 3-7175-1528-4 .
  • Uncle Silas . 1864.
  • Wylder's hand . 1864, German Wylder's hand. Translated from English by Alexander Pechmann. Achilla Presse 2010, ISBN 978-3-940350-15-2 .
  • Guy Deverell . 1865.
  • The Tenants of Malory . 1867.
  • Haunted Lives . 1868.
  • The Wyvern Mystery . 1869.
  • Chronicles of Golden Friars and The Rose and the Key . 1871.
  • Checkmate . 1871, German checkmate . Translated from English by Alexander Pechmann. Achilla Presse, Butjadingen 2005, ISBN 3-928398-90-3 .
  • In a Glass Darkly . 1872.
  • The Room in the Dragon Volant . 1872, German The room in the "Flying Dragon" . Lindenstruth, Giessen 2008.

Film adaptations

The German director Wilhelm Semmelroth filmed the novel Uncle Silas in 1977 for the WDR as a two-parter under the title Onkel Silas . Herbert Asmodi wrote the script ; the music was composed by Hans Jönsson . Hannes Messemer played the leading role .

literature

  • WJ McCormack: Sheridan Le Fanu . 3. Edition. Sutton Publishing, Stroud 1997.
  • Gavin Selerie: Le Fanu's Ghost . Five Seasons Press, Hereford 2006, ISBN 0-947960-44-9 .
  • Robert N. Bloch: J. Sheridan Le Fanu. An annotated, illustrated bibliography of his publications in the German-speaking area . Lindenstruth, Giessen 2010, ISBN 978-3-934273-84-9 .
  • Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 16 : L - Lord Advocate . London 1911, p. 371 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Le Fanu, Sheridan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish writer
DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1814
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1873
Place of death Dublin