| Irish writer, author of Gothic prose Date of Birth: 28.08.1814 Country: Ireland |
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu) was an Irish writer and author of gothic prose. Born in 1814 in Dublin, Ireland, Le Fanu came from a Huguenot family who had several literary members. His father was a clergyman, and Le Fanu spent the first twelve years of his life near the Royal Hibernian Military School, where his father served as a chaplain. In 1826, the family moved to the south of Ireland, where his father became a rector. Despite his father's work, the Le Fanu family constantly faced financial difficulties, partly due to most of the income earned by Le Fanu Sr. going towards tithes.
Le Fanu studied law at Trinity College in Dublin, where he later became an auditor of the College Historical Society. In 1838, he began publishing in the Dublin University Magazine, and it was in this journal that his first "horror" story, "The Ghost and the Bone-Setter," was published. From 1840 onwards, Le Fanu successfully acquired several newspapers, including the "Dublin Evening Mail" and "Warder."
In December 1844, Le Fanu married Susanna Bennett, the daughter of a prominent Dublin lawyer. The couple settled in a house on Warrington Place near the Grand Canal in Dublin. They had four children together: Eleanor (born in 1845), Emma (born in 1846), Thomas (born in 1847), and George (born in 1854). In 1847, Le Fanu supported John Mitchel and Thomas Francis Meagher in their campaign against the government's indifference towards the Irish Famine, which led to his exclusion from the Tory party in 1852.
In 1856, the family moved to the home of Susanna's parents, but their marriage was strained due to Susanna's constant neuroses. In 1858, after a severe hysterical episode, Susanna passed away. Le Fanu believed himself partly responsible for his wife's death, which resulted in a creative block for several years. It was only after the death of his mother in 1861 that he resumed writing. In the same year, Le Fanu became the editor and owner of the Dublin University Magazine, where some of his novels were published.
All of Le Fanu's works were written in the genres of mystery or adventure, and he later became recognized as one of the best authors of gothic prose. His novels and stories were often truly "horrible," and he enjoyed leaving the main puzzle of his works unsolved. One of his best-known works in the horror genre is his vampire novella "Carmilla." Overall, Le Fanu authored more than a dozen novels, including "Uncle Silas" (1864) and "The House by the Churchyard" (1863). His collection of five stories, "In a Glass Darkly," was published in 1872 and is also considered one of Le Fanu's most powerful books.
Many of Le Fanu's works have been adapted into films. For example, in 1932, a German horror film titled "Vampyr" was based on his writings. "Uncle Silas" was adapted in 1947, and in 1960, the horror film "Blood and Roses" was released. In total, Le Fanu's books served as the basis for at least twenty films, primarily in the horror genre.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu passed away at the age of 58 in Dublin on February 7, 1873. A road and park near his childhood home were named in his honor.