''The Moth Diaries'' is the
debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
of
Rachel Klein, published in 2002.
Plot summary
At an exclusively girls' boarding school, a 16-year-old unnamed narrator, records her most intimate thoughts in a diary. The object of her growing obsession is her roommate, Lucy Blake, and Lucy's friendship with their new and disturbing classmate, Ernessa. Around her swirl dark rumors, suspicions, and secrets as well as a series of ominous disasters. As fear spreads through the school and Lucy isn't Lucy anymore, fantasy and reality mingle until what is true and what is dreamed bleed together into a waking nightmare that evokes with
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
menace the anxieties, lusts, and fears of adolescence. At the center of the diary is the question that haunts all who read it, "Is Ernessa really a
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
?" or has the narrator trapped herself in the fevered world of her own imagining?
Film adaptation
The book was adapted into a movie released in 2011, one of the major changes was naming the narrator Rebecca despite her being unnamed in the novel. It was directed by
Mary Harron
Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter, and former entertainment critic. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including ''I Shot Andy Warhol'' (1996), ''Ame ...
.
stars as Ernessa,
Scott Speedman
Robert Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is a British-Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series '' Felicity'', Lycan–Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror–actio ...
as Mr. Davies and
Sarah Bolger
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...
as Rebecca. Commenting on the film, director Harron said: "This is a chillingly atmospheric horror story with real emotional depth. I’ve tried to stay true to Rachel Klein’s novel in the way it re-works and updates the Gothic tradition and the whole notion of girl-on-girl vampires."
[Brendon Connolly, ]
Lily Cole and Scott Speedman to Star in Mary Harron's The Moth Diaries
', ''SlashFilm.com'', 17 May 2009. Accessed 3 February 2010.
References
2002 American novels
Postmodern novels
Fictional diaries
American vampire novels
American novels adapted into films
2002 debut novels
Counterpoint (publisher) books
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