 The Family of the Vourdalak | |
| Author | Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy |
|---|---|
| Original title | La Famille du Vourdalak |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Gothic fiction |
Publication date | 1884 (Russian), 1950 (French) |
| Publication place | France |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
The Family of the Vourdalak is a gothic novella by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy,[1] written in 1839 in French and originally entitled La Famille du Vourdalak. Fragment inedit des Memoires d'un inconnu. Tolstoy wrote it on a trip to France from Frankfurt, where he was attached to the Russian Embassy.
It was translated into Russian by Boleslav Markevich, as "Семья вурдалака" (Sem'yá vurdaláka), published for the first time in The Russian Messenger in January 1884.[1] The original French text appeared in print in 1950, in Revue des Études Slavs, vol.26.[2] The Reunion After Three Hundred Years (Les Rendez-vous Dans Trois Cent Ani) which was written at about the same time and which might be regarded as a sequel (for protagonist Marquis d'Urfe and Countess Grammon appear in it) first appeared in a compilation Le Poete Alexis Tolstoi by A.Lirondelle (Paris, 1912).[2]
The word vourdalak occurs first in Pushkin's work in the early 19th century, and was taken up in Russian literary language following Pushkin. It is a distortion of words referring to vampires (originally probably to werewolves) in Slavic and Balkan folklore – cf. Slavic vǎlkolak, volkodlak, volkolak, vukodlak, wurdulak, etc.; Romanian Vârcolac; and Greek Vrykolakas (both borrowed from the Slavic term).[3]
- ^ a b Joshi, S. T. (2010). Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture. Greenwood Press. p. 326. ISBN 0313378339. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ a b Tolstoy, Aleksey (1964). Collected Works, Vol 3. Commentary by I. G. Yampolsky (in Russian). Moscow: State Publishing House. p. 565.
- ^ M. Fasmer, Etymological Dictionary Russian Language.