The year 1897 brought us one of the most famous vampires in history, Dracula, but it also brought us Harriet Brandt, the other vampire in the other vampire novel, The Blood of the Vampire.
Image via Amazon
The novel follows the talented and beautiful Harriet Brandt, as she comes of age and travels to Europe for the first time from her home in Jamaica with her mad scientist father and voodoo priestess mother. As beautiful as Harriet is, she gains the attention of many, but unfortunately everyone that gets close to her gets sick or dies. Doctor Phillip believes the blood of the vampire runs through her veins and because of it she is draining the life out of the people around her.
According to some background information found on Goodreads, the novel was considered the “other” vampire novel because it came out the same year as Dracula but it did stand on its own. Since it tackles issues such as race, heredity, women’s roles, Spiritualism, and the Occult. Those issues make for a great novel, especially since its a bit ahead of its time.