Title: Dracula
Author: Bram Stoker
First published May 26, 1897
488 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9780393970128 (ISBN10: 0393970124)
Rating: 4.01
Overview
In Bram Stoker’s classic novel, Dracula, young solicitor Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to assist Count Dracula with the purchase of a London estate. However, as Harker delves deeper into Dracula’s world, he uncovers a horrifying truth about his host.
Soon, strange occurrences begin to unfold in England, including a shipwreck off the coast of Whitby and a young woman with mysterious puncture marks on her neck. Stoker weaves a chilling tale of vampire hunters and creatures of the night, while also exposing the dark desires and secrets of Victorian society.
This edition includes a wealth of background and source materials, offering insight into the novel’s creation and its lasting impact on popular culture.
About the Author
Abraham Stoker was born in 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent in Fairview, Dublin, Ireland. His parents were Abraham Stoker and Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely.
Stoker was the third of seven children and his parents were members of the Clontarf Church of Ireland parish. Stoker was an invalid until he started school at the age of seven.
He wrote, “I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years.”
After his recovery, he became a normal young man and excelled as an athlete at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated with honours in mathematics. He was also auditor of the College Historical Society and president of the University Philosophical Society.
In 1876, while employed as a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote a non-fiction book and theatre reviews for The Dublin Mail, a newspaper partly owned by fellow horror writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu.
His interest in theatre led to a lifelong friendship with the English actor Henry Irving.
In 1878, Stoker married Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde. The couple moved to London, where Stoker became the business manager of Irving’s Lyceum Theatre, a post he held for 27 years.
The collaboration with Irving was very important for Stoker and through him he became involved in London’s high society, where he met, among other notables, James McNeil Whistler and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the course of Irving’s tours, Stoker got the chance to travel around the world.
The Stokers had one son, Irving Noel, who was born on December 31, 1879. Bram Stoker died in 1912, and his ashes were placed in a display urn at Golders Green Crematorium.
After Irving Noel Stoker’s death in 1961, his ashes were added to that urn. Florence Stoker’s ashes were scattered at the Gardens of Rest.
Editoral Review
Bram Stokers Dracula is a gothic horror classic that has captured the imaginations of readers since its publication in 1897. Stoker, an Irish novelist, tells the story of the immortal vampire, Count Dracula, and his attempt to move from Transylvania to England in search of new blood, and ultimately, world domination.
The novel is written in an epistolary style, using a mix of personal journals, letters, and newspaper articles to tell the story, shifting perspectives between the different characters. Set in the late Victorian era, Dracula was written during a time of social and political change in Europe.
The novel explores themes of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and colonialism, all of which were highly relevant to the cultural climate of the day. Stoker uses the character of Dracula to challenge the boundaries of accepted norms and conventions, highlighting the fear and anxiety present in a society undergoing rapid transformation.
The novel opens with Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor sent to Transylvania to help Dracula purchase an estate in England. After a series of unsettling encounters with the Count and his entourage, Harker barely escapes with his life, leaving Dracula to make his way to England on his own.
The rest of the novel is marked by the efforts of Harkers fiance, Mina, her friend Lucy, and a team of vampire hunters led by Dr. Abraham van Helsing, to track down and destroy Dracula before he can spread his evil empire across the world. Stokers Dracula is an iconic figure of horror fiction, and the novels enduring popularity over the years speaks to its lasting appeal.
The writing is engaging, and the complex characters are fully realized and steeped in real-world concerns. The themes of the novel, from xenophobia to class struggle, remain relevant today, highlighting the continuing relevance of the horror genre.
Stokers Dracula is by no means a perfect book the pacing can be sluggish at times, and some of the characters are thinly drawn or one-dimensional. However, the novels lasting legacy is defined by its ability to tap into the fears and anxieties of its time and speak to the broader issues that continue to shape our world.
In conclusion, if you are a lover of horror genre or just looking for a thrilling novel to read, Dracula is an essential choice. With its timeless themes, rich characters, and evocative imagery, it offers a frightening, fantastical escape into a world that continues to be relevant to this day.
The novel is a must-read for anyone interested in the genre, as well as for those who appreciate a masterful storytelling. It is no wonder that after over a century, it still captivates readers imaginations.
