Abstract
Matt Haig’s novel The Radleys (2010) is the story of a family of vampires trying to blend into English suburban life. Father Peter works as the local doctor for their village, Bishopthorpe on the outskirts of York; mother Helen is a housewife, giving dinner parties, attending the local book group and painting watercolours; children Rowan and Clara are teenage pupils at the local school. The Radleys constantly monitor their behaviour, measured against that of their friends and neighbours, to create an image of human-ness. But Peter is viewed by neighbours with suspicion because he refuses to join the local golf and cricket clubs, fearing illness because of the exposure to sunlight (Haig, 2010, p. 158), Helen must change her painting style after alarming a neighbour with her erotic oil canvases (p. 217), Clara and Rowan are labelled to as ‘freaks’ by the school bullies. The Radleys are essentially separated from ‘normalized’, middle-class English society without any human realizing just why. As the narrative voice tells us: ‘It is perfectly possible to live next door to a family of vampires and not have the slightest clue the people you call your neighbours might secretly want to suck the blood from your veins’ (p. 157).
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Deborah Mutch
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mutch, D. (2013). Matt Haig’s The Radleys: Vampires for the Neoliberal Age. In: Mutch, D. (eds) The Modern Vampire and Human Identity. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230370142_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230370142_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-35069-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-37014-2
eBook Packages: Palgrave Media & Culture CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)