The Delicate Dependency

1982 novel by Michael Talbot

The Delicate Dependency

Author| Michael Talbot
Language| English
Genre| Horror
Publisher| Avon Books

Publication date

| March 28, 1982
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (paperback)
Pages| 406
ISBN| 978-0-380-77982-6

The Delicate Dependency: A Novel of the Vampire Life is a 1982 vampire novel by Michael Talbot.[1]

## Plot

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In Victorian London, widowed Dr. John Gladstone runs over a beautiful young man named Niccolo Cavalanti with his carriage. When others at the hospital begin to notice the injured man's unnatural healing ability, Gladstone shelters a recovering Niccolo in his home, and soon learns that the kind man is a vampire. Niccolo befriends both of Gladstone's daughters, the coming of age Ursula and the blind toddler Camille, and then disappears with Camille. Accompanied by Lady Hespeth Dunaway, a woman whose son was also abducted by Niccolo, Gladstone sets off to find his daughter.

## Publication

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The Delicate Dependency was published by Avon Books on March 28, 1982, and eventually went out of print. It was republished by Valancourt Books in 2014.[2][3]

## Reception

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In Encyclopedia of the Vampire, Darrell Schweitzer called the novel "one of the most impressive explorations of a vampire mind ever written".[4] Publishers Weekly called The Delicate Dependency "ambitious, "impressive", and "unflaggingly interesting.”[3] Whitley Strieber noted of the novel, "The tension builds page by page to a stunning climax ... I doubt that I will ever forget it.”[3] Fangoria named The Delicate Dependency as one of its "Top 10 Vampire Novels" in 1992.[5]

## References

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1. ^ "Obituaries: Michael Talbot, Writer, 38". The New York Times. June 2, 1992. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
2. ^ Healey, Trebor (May 28, 2014). "Early Gay Literature Rediscovered". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
3. ^ a b c "The Delicate Dependency (1982) by Michael Talbot". Valancourt Books. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
4. ^ Joshi, S. T., ed. (2010). Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture. pp. 73–74\. ISBN 978-0-313-37833-1.
5. ^ "Top 10 Vampire Novels". Fangoria (116). September 1992.