The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers
"The Stress of Her Regard" is a novel that intertwines elements of horror, fantasy, and historical fiction, centering around the supernatural beings known as Lamiae. These silicon-based life-forms thrive through symbiotic relationships with humans, requiring an invitation to engage with their victims. The narrative begins with English physician Michael Crawford, who inadvertently animates a stone statue by placing a wedding ring on its finger, leading to a series of tragic events that include the death of his fiancée, Julia. Accused of murder, Crawford finds himself embroiled in a quest for redemption, aided by the famous poets John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron, all of whom are also entangled with the Lamiae.
The story explores the complexities of emotional and existential vampirism, as Crawford seeks to liberate his poet friends from their oppressive connections to these creatures. As the plot unfolds, it reveals a historical backdrop involving medieval power struggles and the transformation of human and Lamiae interactions. The climax features a dramatic confrontation with Werner Von Aargau, who embodies the link between humans and Lamiae, leading to a revolutionary resolution that impacts both the supernatural and human realms. This novel offers a unique blend of myth and reality, inviting readers to reflect on themes of love, loss, and the consequences of unnatural bonds.
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The Stress of Her Regard
First published: 1989
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—alternate history
Time of work: The early nineteenth century
Locale: Various locations in England, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy
The Plot
Silicon-based life-forms, called Lamiae, have formed a “family” through their symbiotic relationships with particular humans. The supernatural beings need to be invited by their victims.
The story begins when English physician Michael Crawford stops at an inn on his way to his wedding. He is lured into placing the wedding ring on the finger of a stone statue. In a scene that re-enacts the animation of Pygmalion, the statue comes alive. From that point, she regards Crawford as her husband. The Lamia kills Crawford’s bride, Julia, on the night of their marriage, and Crawford, accused of the murder, is forced to flee the country. He is followed by Julia’s psychotic sister, Josephine, who is intent on revenge.
Crawford is helped by John Keats, a medical student in a London hospital. Keats, a victim of the Lamia since birth, recognizes Crawford as a new member of the family and urges him to travel to Switzerland, where he becomes involved with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, also victims. Crawford is involved in a complicated series of adventures designed to free the poets from the emotional vampirism of the Lamiae. The result is a series of fictional explanations for the historical deaths experienced by these poets: Keats dies of tuberculosis in Rome, Shelley drowns, and Byron leaves to fight with the Greeks against the Turks.
The plot also operates at a political level, with the revelation that a power broker of the Middle Ages, Werner Von Aargau, had a stone statue inserted into his abdomen, thus linking humankind with the stone Lamiae. The result of this unnatural liaison was to awaken the previously dormant Lamiae to power, enabling them, through Werner, to control the Austrian Empire. The Italian Carbonari help all those who oppose such unnatural relationships and lead Crawford to Werner. The story climaxes with Crawford’s forceful delivery of the statue from the host body of the now-ancient Werner by cesarean section, thus killing the stone fetus, breaking the link between Lamiae and humankind, causing the collapse of the Basilica in which Werner was sheltered, and setting the scene for revolution.