Alexandre Dumas is known for his long novels, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, but La Dame pâle is a novella and actually part of a longer collection. I thought it was okay. While written in simple language that even I, a learner could understand with some vocabulary lookups, it does well in building tone and atmosphere. It's a very recognizable Gothic novel. There's a noblewoman in exile, a castle in the mountains, two brothers, and vampires. While good, I can't help but feel that it'd be much better if it had been a bit longer. When I finished it, it was like, that's it? Still, it's a good tale and kept me hooked.