by Marie Nizet
Henri evidently took the theme of Suggestion very seriously; his only substantial publication thereafter was L’Hypnotisme, étude critique [Hypnotism: A Critical Study] in 1893. The coincidences of theme between Dracula and Suggestion are, as in the case of Le Capitaine Vampire, more easily explained as a matter of the common influence of other texts than by any direct transmission of ideas from the former to the latter.
Cazacu is certainly correct, however, to observe that the story of Henri Nizet’s literary career is a fascinating addendum to the story of Marie’s, and may offer significant clues regarding the origin of the remarkable undercurrents of feeling submerged within Le Capitaine Vampire.
Brian Stableford
Notes
Notes that merely translate footnotes from the original text are indicated by the addendum [Nizet]; in cases where I have added a further annotation of my own, my own comments are placed after that credit.
1 Available from Black Coat Press as Lord Ruthven the Vampire (IBN 978-1-932983-10-4) and The Return of Lord Ruthven (ISBN 978-1-932983-11-1).
2 Available from Black Coat Press as Vampire City (ISBN 978-0-9740711-6-9).
3 One of the victims of the collapse was Paul Féval, who had–astonishingly as well as unwisely–gambled his entire fortune on the investment.
4 This reference is to Ion Heliade Radulescu (see the introduction).
5 Varzin was Bismarck’s country estate in Pomerania.
6 Raki is here defined as plum brandy [Nizet], although the term is often used more generally to refer to strong liquors of the region.
7 The dorobantzi were a special corps of Rumanian infantry [Nizet].
8 Mamaliga is a porridge made from maize, allegedly the staple diet of Rumanian peasants [Nizet].
9 In Friedrich Schiller’s allegorical ballad Der Taucher [The Diver] (1797), a King hurls a golden goblet off a cliff into the sea, challenging his knights and vassals to recover it, and thus claim it for their own. A young page who accepts the challenge is dragged into the depths by a whirlpool. He returns, miraculously, after a magical underwater journey, but the King throws the goblet back into the sea and challenges him again, this time promising a knighthood and his daughter’s hand as the reward for its recovery. The boy, fervent with desire to marry the Princess, jumps in for a second time, with the predictable result.
10 Selbovitza is a kind of strong liquor [Nizet].
11 Unlike Ion Heliade Radulescu, the Rumanian poets Cezar Bolliaco (1813-1891) and Vasile Alecsandri (1821-1890) were still alive at the time when the story is set. Alecsandri similarly played a significant role in the revolutionary upheavals of 1848.
12 The hora is a Rumanian folkdance [Nizet].
13 This relationship of frère de lait, for which English has so better equivalent than “foster-brother,” plays a significant role in 19th-century French fiction. It had long been common practice in continental Europe for aristocratic women to “farm out” their children to wet-nurses rather than take on the ignominious burden of breast-feeding. Most European aristocrats of the 18th and 19th centuries thus had “foster-siblings” of much lower social status, with whom they were connected by peculiarly intimate and frequently enduring bonds. The practice was a boon to novelists desirous of forging connections between the social classes that would facilitate their plotting.
14 A Rumanian pogone is slightly less than half a hectare [Nizet].
15 Doïne–the word is plural–are Rumanian folksongs [Nizet].
16 Braga is millet beer [Nizet].
17 A zmeu is a fantastic creature that plays a considerable role in Rumanian superstition [Nizet]. It is a shapeshifter, although it usually appears in human guise–often with a precious stone set in its head–and often flies through the air, sometimes spitting fire. It is a symbolic manifestation of pagan evil, often featuring in folktales as the thief of something vital–which the story’s hero must recover–or as a sexual predator.
18 Zmeine is the plural of zmeu [Nizet], although Nizet subsequently employs zmeï in that capacity.
19 There is a pun here; autres moins naïve [others less naïve] is phonetically identical to autres moines naïve; although the literal meaning of the latter phrase is “other naïve monks” moines is also used abusively to mean “bed-warmer.” It is difficult to convey, in translation, the sarcastic disdain with which this entire sarcastic passage is saturated.
20 The Hungarian count Gyula Andrassy (1823-1890) was the first Premier of Hungary; his tenure lasted from 1867-71; he is named here because Tokay dessert wine originated within his domain, and it was therefore assumable that he had the pick of it. He was a close friend (and reputed lover) of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria. This paragraph–as is obvious even in English–is replete with sexual innuendo.
21 Romanul was the title of a newspaper founded in 1857 by Constantin A. Rosetti (1816-1885), a literary man and political leader much influenced by French culture and political ideology, who played a leading role in the revolutionary upheavals of 1848. The paper was closed down in 1864 because Rosetti opposed the first ruler of united Rumania, Prince Alexandru Ioan Cusa, but Cusa was ousted in 1866 and publication was resumed. In the war that forms the background to Nizet’s story, both Rosetti and Cusa’s replacement, Prince Charles (or Carol), took part in the historic Danube crossing.
22 The names of the Comanescu children are ironically significant, in a manner typical of transfigured fairy tales (the reader has already been notified of the likelihood of such resonances, and will find more in the next chapter). The two “ugly sisters,” Epistimia and Agapia, derive their names from episteme and agape, the former signifying rationally-derived knowledge and the latter being the name given to the Christian “love-feast,” so they are being drawn in archetypally contrasting terms. In French, “Relia” is not so much reminiscent of reliability as of something rebound, like a book, while his full name, Aurelio, means “golden;” the fact that the boy’s family nickname–he has another, far more telling, as the next paragraph will reveal–retains a faint echo of Cendrillon, the French version of Cinderella, may be coincidental, although he is certainly cast in a Cinderella role relative to his sisters. Alas, the next “ball” to which Relia gets to go will bring him into contact with an extremely uncharming prince, whose invitation to dance is a vicious one. The aftermath of that encounter is certainly not a wedding from his point of view.
23 These formulas are the equivalents of au revoir, bon voyage and a French expression translatable as “stay healthy” [Nizet].
24 Rubias were gold coins minted in the Ottoman Empire [Nizet].
25 Galbeni were gold coins [Nizet].
26 A leï is equivalent to 100 francs [Nizet], or four pounds sterling.
27 The Yezidees are a Kurdish sect based in Armenia and the Caucasus. Their quasi-Manichean creed–presumably descended from Zoroastrianism, but having incorporated Christian and Islamic elements–sometimes used to be mistaken by ignorant commentators for devil-worship.
28 A bani is equivalent to fifty centimes [Nizet], or slightly less than a shilling.
29 Mihai Viteazul, or Michael the Brave (c.1558-1601) was Prince of Walachia, Transylvania and Moldavia; he was the first to unite the territories comprising modern Rumania, and thus became a significant hero of 19th-century Rumanian nationalism. He joined a Christian alliance against his former masters, the Turks, and fought numerous battles against them; in one of them, he captured the citadel of Giurgiu.
30 The Monastery of Argis (or Argisch) is a Rumanian folk-ballad based on a 13th-century legend, in which a company of master masons, headed by the celebrated Manoli (or Manol), undertake to build an unparalleled monastery for Prince Radu the Black on the bank of the Argis river. Radu threatens Manoli that if his masons do not succeed in realizing his dream, he will have him walled up in the monastery’s foundations. Unfortunately, the work they do is continually undone by some mysterious agency, and Manoli is told by a disembodied voice that the monastery will never be complet
ed unless the first woman to present herself the following morning is walled up alive in the foundations. It turns out to be his wife, Flora, so he resolves to trick the Prince with a charade–but Radu sees through the ruse and causes all the masons to fall to their deaths, leaving Flora to die in her makeshift tomb. The song is, of course, a rather ominous choice on Mariora’s part.
31 These are the Rumanian equivalents of mama and papa [Nizet].
32 Nicopolis, or Nikopol, a settlement founded by the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the second century A.D., is nowadays too small to feature on the maps in Atlases, but it occupied a significant strategic position in 1877 by virtue of its situation at the confluence of the Danube and the Iatrus, on what is now the Bulgarian side of the border. It was the site of the first significant victory in the Russo-Turkish war; the Russians took the town on July 16, 1877 and retained it as a base during the siege of Pleven.
33 Bashi-bazouks (Bachi-bouzouks in the French spelling) were Turkish irregular troops notorious (according to Webster’s Dictionary) for “turbulence and cruelty.”
34 Nizet’s poussah is a term derived from a sort of toy that simulates the motion of a tumbler; here, as with other terms of abuse used in this and other chapters, I have substituted something that has a similar flavor of contempt to the original rather than attempting to preserve unintended literal meanings.
35 “My darling” [Nizet].
36 Calaretzi are Rumanian cavalry [Nizet].
37 “Who goes there?” [Nizet].
38 “Friends!” [Nizet].
39 Sardanapalus was the name given by Greek writers to the last of he great Sargonid kings, Asurbanipal (668-626 BC). He secured the Assyrian Empire by means of ruthless oppression, but also presided over a significant flourishing of art and literature, assembling a large library (whose archaeologically-excavated residue is now in the British Museum). Inevitably, he won a reputation in envious Greece–and hence in western legendry–for decadence and debauchery as well as magnificence.
40 Even in a text that is unusually frank, in its own sly fashion, this surname–which translates as “lovely bush”–is a trifle crude; Relia is presumably as blissfully unaware of the double entendre as he is of his intended role in the unfolding orgy. It is unsurprising that his archetypal image of womanhood should reflect the goddess Athene rather than Aphrodite.
41 Nizet’s fillette au chien is a double entendre; I have given the seemingly-intended meaning, since “little bitch” would normally be rendered fillette du chien; both fillette and chien have other slang applications, widening the potential range of implicit meaning.
42 An opuscule is, literally, a “little opus”–in this case, a brief essay.
43 Although piper is featured here (at least ostensibly) as the name of a dance–previously advertised as a crude Rumanian version of the cancan–the term is replete with significant meanings in French. Derivatives of the verb piper are mostly used with reference to catching birds by means of a sonic decoy, and, by extension, to all manner of beguiling deception and confidence trickery; more crudely–and far more relevantly, in the present context–they include a slang term for fellatio parallel to the Anglo-American “blow[-job].”
44 I have used the most usual English spelling of “khanjar,” although Nizet probably intended to use a calculatedly-Westernized spelling in rendering it kangiar; the weapon in question is a short curved dagger originated in the Islamic world.
45 Golos means “Voice;” the word appears in the titles of numerous Russian periodicals.
46 Codrean is allegedly the hero of a Rumanian ballad [Nizet], but the word simply means “forest” in Rumanian; if it had an acute accident on the e–there is none in Nizet’s text–it would mean “forest-dweller,” which would be more easily transferable to a particular individual.
47 “Help! Help!” [Nizet].
48 A friendly sound familiar to Rumanians [Nizet].
49 A famous horse of Rumanian legend [Nizet]; Cal is Rumanian for horse, so the legendary horse’s given name may have been simply Vintesh, but I have been unable to track down any original reference. (Cazacu’s version of the text misprints Calul as Caiul.)
50 “Long live Russia!” [Nizet].
51 A water-jug [Nizet].
52 A coin of the smallest denomination, akin to a French sou or a English farthing [Nizet].
53 Literally, “many years”–a formularistic expression of gratitude [Nizet].
54 “Good day, brother” [Nizet].
55 A Rumanian proverb [Nizet].
56 A Rumanian expression signifying Death [Nizet].
57 An igumen (Nizet has igoumêne) or hegumen is the head of a relatively small Orthodox monastery–the equivalent of an abbot in the Roman church; the head of a larger and more important Orthodox monastery is known by the more familiar title of Archimandrite.
58 These two characters are “rigorously historic,” according to Nizet’s brief footnote, but I can only identify one of the two families: the Capsas were notable confectioners and restauranteurs from 1856, when Anton and Vasile Capsa founded a confectionery in 1856, until well into the 20th century.
Acknowledgements: We are indebted to Robert Eighteen-Bisang of Transylvania Press, PO Box 75012, WRPO White Rock, BC Canada V4B 5L3, and to David McDonnell for proofreading the typescript.
English adaptation, introduction and afterword Copyright 2007 by Brian Stableford.
Cover illustration Copyright 2007 by Hank Mayo.
Visit our website at www.blackcoatpress.com
ISBN 978-1-934543-01-6. First Printing. September 2007. Published by Black Coat Press, an imprint of Hollywood Comics.com, LLC, P.O. Box 17270, Encino, CA 91416. All rights reserved. Except for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The stories and characters depicted in this novel are entirely fictional. Printed in the United States of America.
FRENCH HORROR COLLECTION
Cyprien Bérard. The Vampire Lord Ruthwen
Aloysius Bertrand. Gaspard de la Nuit
André Caroff. The Terror of Madame Atomos
André Caroff. Miss Atomos
André Caroff. The Return of Madame Atomos
André Caroff. The Mistake of Madame Atomos
André Caroff. The Monsters of Madame Atomos
Harry Dickson. The Heir of Dracula
Jules Dornay. Lord Ruthven Begins
Sâr Dubnotal vs. Jack the Ripper
Alexandre Dumas. The Return of Lord Ruthven
Renée Dunan. Baal
Paul Feval. Anne of the Isles
Paul Feval. Knightshade
Paul Feval. Revenants
Paul Feval. Vampire City
Paul Feval. The Vampire Countess
Paul Feval. The Wandering Jew’s Daughter
Paul Féval, fils. Felifax, the Tiger-Man
G.L. Gick. Harry Dickson and the Werewolf of Rutherford Grange
Etienne-Léon de Lamothe-Langon. The Virgin Vampire
01 Marie Nizet. Captain Vampire
C. Nodier, A. Beraud & Toussaint-Merle, V. Hugo, P. Foucher & P. Meurice. Frankenstein & The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
J. Polidori, C. Nodier, E. Scribe. Lord Ruthven the Vampire
P.-A. Ponson du Terrail. The Vampire and the Devil’s Son
Brian Stableford. The Shadow of Frankenstein
Brian Stableford. Frankenstein and the Vampire Countess
Brian Stableford. Frankenstein in London
Villiers de l’Isle-Adam. The Scaffold
Villiers de l’Isle-Adam. The Vampire Soul
Philippe Ward. Artahe
Philippe Ward & Sylvie Miller. The Song of Montségur
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