ABSTRACT
Poor John Polidori came from an impressive family. His grandfather wrote a treatise on bones which was much admired, both for its scientific content and because it was written in verse. The London medical establishment, however, did not welcome any doctor coming from the provinces, let alone from north of the border. Doctors were not allowed to practice in the city until they were 26 years old. Polidori stayed with Sir William Jerningham and, through him, he got an introduction that changed his life and led to the creation of the vampire. Sir William Jerningham knew the Prince Regent's doctor, William Knighton, and arranged for Polidori to meet him. The relationship between the two men would not be easy, however, as Lord Byron was always the master as well as the patient – and Polidori always the servant as well as the doctor.
