Caramelle & Carmilla

Carmilla by J. Sheridan le Fanu, the vampire novella from 1872 which inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula (and a recent favorite of mine, Hungerstone by Kat Dunn) has also inspired Caramelle by Jewelle Gomez.

A note on Carmilla; I did not read it until it came packaged in the same book with Gomez' story, and I encourage any fans of Sapphic vampire horror or Victorian literature to read it. It's a chilling Gothic tale in its own right but also, as revealed through its structure of being filtered by at least one male, blatantly a cautionary tale against women being sexual creatures of any sort (but especially when it comes to other women.) Oh, those Victorians!

Jewelle Gomez' Caramelle, on the other hand, is set in approximately the same time period, the 1860s, but the life of a slave or former slave in America was a very different one from the middle/upper class of Victorian-era Austria, and the 21st century lens from which it is written is also very different. It's also telling that Gomez chose to have Elisabeth tell us her story directly, not filtered through a prologue written by a man who has placed himself between the writer and the reader.

Elisabeth's mother died when she was a baby, and her father, determined not to see his daughter be worked to death, fled north. Now in New England, their farm is a stop on the Underground Railroad where they are visited by many "cousins".

Elisabeth is surprised when Caramelle, recently arrived with her mother, tells her they are from Maryland - a free state - and that they're fleeing because her mother killed a man.

Gomez' story is short, about 11 pages, but her take on Carmilla adds an intersection of the black experience with the female experience. In just a few pages, Gomez tells a Sapphic love story and a story about freedom - not just from slavery but from the construct of gender roles.

Note: I also appreciated and enjoyed Gomez’ thoughtful introduction to the book which included both volumes, Caramelle & Carmilla.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aunt Lute Books for the review copy.