In The Face of Death

by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Benbella Books, 2001, Trade Paperback, 341 Pages, $14.95

The reason I am belatedly reviewing this 2001 book is the epiphany I came to when I read it this week. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has written a marvelous Historical novel. It is not Horror in the technical sense. It does not rouse those emotions of terror, fear of the unknown. It does not probe the nameless fears so beloved of Poe, Le Fanu, Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith... Its sole claim on Horror is that the main character is a Vampire.

Madelaine de Montallia, a French Vampire created by Ragoczy, Compte de Saint-Germaine a century and a third before, is our protagonist. During her long life, she has developed a scholarly bent and an interest in preserving for posterity the culture and beliefs of the Native Americans. To this end she travels across the U.S. for eight difficult years ending up in San Francisco in 1855. Here our story truly begins.

She meets William Tecumseh Sherman, a San Francisco Banker and develops a loving Vampire relationship. The novel delves into Sherman’s psyche, personality and character. She leaves continuing her studies of Native American culture. Periodically she send her monographs to Saint-Germaine in Amsterdam for publication.

In 1860 she is trapped by the American Civil War and attempts to avoid it by residing in rural Georgia. Here she takes care of orphans and wounded soldiers from both sides and encounters Sherman again.

The contradictions and complexity of Sherman’s personality make this an interesting book. The wonderful detail in the research about people and places, culture and mind set, made it difficult to put down. I enjoyed it hugely as an historical novel about a difficult era in our history.

But again it is not Horror. In fact, I would say that most of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s recent output falls into the historical novel category. She calls this one “An Historical Horror Novel.” The woman has been tricking Horror Fans into reading excellent Historical Novels. – Gary Swaty