The vampire novel that defined a genre by tapping into our deepest fears and darkest fantasies A junior solicitor travels to Transylvania to meet with an important client, the mysterious Count Dracula. Ignoring the dire warnings of local townsfolk, he allows himself to be seduced by the count’s courtly manners and erudite charm. Too late, the solicitor realizes that he is a prisoner of Castle … of Castle Dracula, his guards a trio of voluptuous young women with sharp white teeth and a taste for blood.
Soon thereafter, the solicitor’s fianc e, Mina, visits a friend on the English coast. The town is full of speculation over a Russian ship run aground nearby, its crew missing, the dead body of its captain, crucifix in hand, lashed to the wheel. A giant dog was seen leaping from the deck before disappearing into the countryside. The ship’s cargo: fifty boxes of Transylvanian dirt. As the beautiful Mina will soon learn, Count Dracula has arrived.
At once a Gothic reflection of the Victorian era and a timeless tale of sinister lust, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has inspired countless adaptations–none with the same power to quicken the pulse as the original.
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Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel is a fascinating tale on many levels. On the surface, it is the story of a young lawyer, Jonathan Harker, who goes to Transylvania to visit Count Dracula at his castle in the Carpathian Mountains. The purpose of his visit is to conclude a real estate purchase so the count can move to England. He notices the villagers are superstitious and set in their ways. Even the horses run faster as night begins to fall. When he arrives, he finds his host to be well-educated, well-spoken, and incredibly wealthy. It doesn’t take long though for him to see the truly evil side of the count.
While Harker is away, his fiancée, Mina, has been staying with her best friend, Lucy. When Dracula arrives in England, selects Lucy for one of his victims. She slowly grows weaker until she also becomes a vampire. The physician, Dr. Seward, enlists the help of his teacher, Van Helsing, to put a stop to Dracula’s evil.
The historical part of this work is from the count’s description of the history of the castle and the area, going back several hundred years. Even though Stoker never says that Count Dracula is a fictional version of Vlad III, also known as Vlad Dracula and Vlad the Impaler, he does say that the count fought the Turks. That puts him in the same time period as Vlad III.
This gothic horror novel is told in letters and journal entries. Much of it was not scary in the outright sense of horror but rather based on fear of what the characters might find. The one part that is definitely gory is where Dracula is killed. There is plenty leading up to that moment so that readers know what is coming. At times, one feels sorry for the count and for his situation, other times, he is filled with evil. All the characters in Stoker’s novel are put in situations where they must make choices that their lives depend on.
Campy and quaint. Melodramatic, with more garlic than an Olive Garden Alfredo sauce. But it was a fun read, I liked it.
Dracula was a fast-paced read for me. I loved the characters even if Dracula was not in this much. I had a hard time staying focused when Van Helsing was talking. This man can talk! I liked Lucy and Mina they seemed to have had a great relationship. The only thing that bothered me was that Lucy was given all these transfusions but not Mina. That was confusing for me as to why they went to such great lengths for Lucy but Mina seemed to be able to hold out longer. Despite a rushed ending I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
The first big vampire book, he sets the lore of vampires for subsequent authors. The story is told in a series of journal entries and newspaper clippings. Everyone who likes vampires needs to read this at least once.
Listened to the Audible exclusive production. Fantastic and so full of gothic atmosphere. Perfect for the halloween season.
Great edition of a classic.
It’s like modern text back and forth. Similar to Where’d You Go Bernadette, in a gothic style.
CLASSIC OF COURSE
Got to love the original Dracula.
I had to read this book in school, but it was the best book I’ve had to read for school. I think the 5 months we spent on the book/movie were the best ones in my english class 🙂
Read it or you will miss out
Book kept me reading. Not a vampire story. Very little to do with count Dracula and more to do with the workings of a younge society woman’s mind. Book is easy to read but nothing to do with the movies based on it.
The original vampire story doesn’t get better than that
Great must read classic.
I really enjoyed this book. Even if you’ve seen all the Dracula movies made, the book is still great.
Read many years ago. Dracula’s need for “fresh” human blood in order to stay alive, also make his victims vampires.
Love the camp scene. Can’t beat the original vampire!
The real story of Dracula within historical context
It is the one that started it all. If love Vampire lit you have to read the grand-daddy of them all. Very Goth.
I love this book…It’s still reads well.