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Dracula

Bram Stoker

3.99 · Rating details · 864,960 ratings · 23,078 reviews

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries about his client and his castle. Soon afterwards, a number of disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked at Whitby; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman’s neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about ...more

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Paperback, 350 pages

Published 2016 by Arcturus Publishing Ltd. (first published May 26th 1897)

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Sep 15, 2011 Jonathan Terrington rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-literature, want, re-read, books-with-films, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, thriller, fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, gothic, fantasy, classic-challenge

Dracula: the very name instantly brings to mind visions of vampires, stakes, garlic and crucifixes. But when one bothers to read the novel they may realise how twisted modern vampire fiction has become.

Vampires are not meant to exist as heroes. Go back a few hundred years and men believed truly that the vampire was a real immortal, cursed to quench his undying thirst with a living mortal’s blood. The very idea of a blood drinker inspires the very image of a villain to the mind. And that is what ...more

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Aug 24, 2018 Elise (TheBookishActress) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: z-read-in-2018, 5-star, favorite-characters, gen-nonfiction, books-released-1900s, z-faves-of-2018, this-gay-subtext-101, gen-mystery-suspense

I find Victorian horror so interesting because it’s a clear reaction to social norms of the time, to the buttoned-down and repressed social climate of the time, to the “new moral standards” of the church and the new questions brought up and hidden away by scientific thought. But under the fabric of late Victorian society lay wide ranges of change; the increased marriage rate and idea of the domestic sphere for women giving way to the New Woman, the upper class vs. lower class divide giving way ...more

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Nov 15, 2017 Matthew rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, 2017, horror, monsters, library, audio

Two things about this book:

1. It is a really great and creepy story that deserves classic status
2. Everything is repeated soooooo much without any obvious benefit.

Here is actual footage of Bram Stoker writing this novel:

If Stoker had just got to the point, this book would have been much more exciting and suspenseful. I understand the exact same mysterious thing happens night after night. I understand that Dracula has some boxes of dirt. I get that you brought Winchester rifles along for ...more

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Apr 17, 2015 Caz (littlebookowl) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: school, owned

Managed to finish this :) Second time studying, but first successful read-through.
I enjoyed it more this time around, mainly because I actually read the last quarter or so of the book, which was the most enjoyable in my opinion.

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Feb 21, 2015 Sean Barrs the Bookdragon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: darkness-horror-gothic, classics, 5-star-reads

Dracula is, of course, one of the most renowned horror stories, and the most well-known vampire novel. Bram Stoker set the ground rules for what a vampire should be, and set the benchmark for all other writers of the vampire afterwards. Indeed, if tyrannical villains are a necessity of Gothic fiction then Count Dracula is the father of all gothic villains, in spite of it being one of the last Gothic fiction novels to be written. It’s a work of genius that his presence is felt so strongly in the Dracula is, of course, one of the most renowned horror stories, and the most well-known vampire novel. Bram Stoker set the ground rules for what a vampire should be, and set the benchmark for all other writers of the vampire afterwards. Indeed, if tyrannical villains are a necessity of Gothic fiction then Count Dracula is the father of all gothic villains, in spite of it being one of the last Gothic fiction novels to be written. It’s a work of genius that his presence is felt so strongly in the novel with him appearing in the flesh so rarely.

"His face was a strong, a very strong, aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils, with lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth, so far as I could see it under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth. These protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years. For the rest, his ears were pale, and at the tops extremely pointed. The chin was broad and strong, and the cheeks firm though thin. The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor.

description

The atmosphere of the novel is unmistakably gothic. It is impossible to talk about Dracula without mentioning the Gothic; the two are one and the same. The decaying castle in which the book begins is testimony to the eeriness that follows. The "damsel in distress" motif appears quite often in Gothic literature, and none so much as Dracula. Mina and Lucy are both damsels at some point, and even Harker himself can be seen as one at the start when he is rescued by his wife that has a “man’s brain.” It’s quite a subversion of the standard gender roles, at this point, and quite funny really.

description

On initial inspection the plot of the book can be summed up in a few short sentences: Dracula wishes to create more vampires in Victorian London; his attempts are thwarted and he and his kind are exterminated. But, the novel is so much more than that. It represents Victorian fears and fancies; it is a comment on women’s position in society and underpins their sexual desires (and perhaps fears.) It suggests a struggle between modernity and science with religion and superstition. It harbours the effect of Darwinian thought on man as Dracula himself represent the idea of “survival of the fittest.” The undertones of sexuality and disease that occur so frequently symbolise the time in which it was written. Each one of these has been a topic for commentaries on Dracula, and academic essays.

Indeed, the extrinsic value of this novel is incredibly high. Bram Stoker also explores the theme of sanity with many of his characters, not just Renfield. At some point, every character wonders whether their dealings with the Count are born from some mental deficiency rather than a paranormal encountering with the villain. This clashes the Victorian realism view with the paranormal events that occur in the novel. There are also issues of identity, and how this is affected by transgression. It can further be seen as an allegory for religious redemption and a comment on colonisation.

I think I’ve said enough; if I say anything else I will break my “500 words a review” rule. As you can probably tell I’m quite passionate about this book: it is brilliant; at this point, I can honestly say that Dracula is one of my favourite novels of all time: I just love it. I might even write my dissertation on it and Gothic Literature.

Dracula rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...more

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Jun 27, 2019 Anne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of Grumpy Old Vampires

Recommended to Anne by: Jeff

Shelves: audio, classics, horror, read-in-2019

Shockingly, not a whole hell of a lot of vampire stuff up in this bitch.
Mostly, it read like a dull travelogue with lots of emotions like bro-love flowing around. And all the men loved all the women, platonically or otherwise, to the point they were willing to give their lives for whichever lucky lady was getting snacked on by the evil Dracula at the time.
It was quite the love fest. <--I'm not buying it, Stoker!

description

And Dracula?
Not since Gary Olman's beehived old woman portrayal have I been less ...more

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Oct 27, 2015 megs_bookrack rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

A timeless and true masterpiece.

Believe it or not, I am still considering how to best write a 'review' for this, one of my very favorite novels of all time.

I annotated this most recent time reading, in the hopes that it would help when it came to composing my final thoughts.

What I am really struggling with is the idea of little ole' me 'reviewing' a masterpiece.

I guess my goal is more to compel people to read this amazing piece of world literature as opposed to providing an astute analysis ...more

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Sep 28, 2009 Mike (the Paladin) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, favorites, fantasy, classics, classic-horror

I believe this may be the edition I read "first". This is an amazing book. I've read reviews by those who disagree and reviews by those who hated the format. But I was swept up in it the first time I read it as a teen and have been every time since.

My advice is don't worry about all the psychological baggage that has been tacked on over the years...and please don't confuse the movie "Bram Stoker's Dracula" with the actual plot, story, and characters in the book. It doesn't remotely resemble the I believe this may be the edition I read "first". This is an amazing book. I've read reviews by those who disagree and reviews by those who hated the format. But I was swept up in it the first time I read it as a teen and have been every time since.

My advice is don't worry about all the psychological baggage that has been tacked on over the years...and please don't confuse the movie "Bram Stoker's Dracula" with the actual plot, story, and characters in the book. It doesn't remotely resemble the book and the title has galled me since that movie came out. The book is far, far better.
I believe it's worth noting that a lot of the psychological baggage that has been attached to this volume probably tells you more about the ones attaching it than the book.

This book creates a horror atmosphere that has been copied constantly over the years but never quite captured again. You'll be experiencing with Harker the castle and what he faces there. Battling the Count in England...and the terror of the ship's crew that carried his earth boxes across the sea, all will stay with you. Again let me urge you no matter how well any movie has been done, if the movie Dracula is the only one you know, you haven't met the proto-vampire who resides in this book. He/it still walks through literature and even more in the dark fears that lurk in the back of our minds when we're alone on a stormy night or we have to walk alone past that old rundown graveyard (not cemetery) where the city has never gotten around to installing those street lights.

This isn't Twilight, nor is it Buffy the vampire Slayer, there aren't any friendly, helpful, romantic vampires here. (None sparkle either) There is quite probably a reason (or maybe more than one) why we wish so badly to laugh at this book. It does what it does very, very well...and that's be frightening.

This book is a classic that has been around for over a hundred years..there's a reason for that.

"We" just read this in the Supernatural Readers group...and I still like it. LOL ...more

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Aug 13, 2007 S.A. Parham rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

I was rather disappointed by this classic. It started out with promise, especially the Jonathan Harker bits. Then all the male characters descended into blubbering worshippers of the two female characters, and by the end of the novel, I was wishing Dracula could snack on all of them and be done with it. I kept having to put it aside and read chapters in between other books, but I managed to finish it at last.

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Aug 05, 2008 Martine rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic, film, british, nineteenth-century

'Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely. And leave something of the happiness you bring!'

These are pretty much the first words spoken to Jonathan Harker, one of the heroes of Bram Stoker's Dracula, upon his arrival at Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania, just minutes after a nightmare journey through the landscape of gothic horror: darkness, howling wolves, flames erupting out of the blue, frightened horses. Within a few days of his arrival, Harker will find himself talking of the 'Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely. And leave something of the happiness you bring!'

These are pretty much the first words spoken to Jonathan Harker, one of the heroes of Bram Stoker's Dracula, upon his arrival at Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania, just minutes after a nightmare journey through the landscape of gothic horror: darkness, howling wolves, flames erupting out of the blue, frightened horses. Within a few days of his arrival, Harker will find himself talking of the Count's 'wickedly blazing eyes' and 'new schemes of villainy' and have some hair-raising encounters with the man who is now the world's most famous vampire: 'The last I saw of Count Dracula was his kissing his hand to me, with a red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of.' Several adventures involving sharp teeth, mirrors, garlic, crucifixes, bloody-mouthed corpses and big stakes will ensue.

The above quotations should make it abundantly clear what kind of book Dracula is. It's sensation fiction, written nearly half a century after the heyday of that genre. It's a cross between an epistolary novel, a detective novel and a save-my-wife story, and it's full of scares, horror and disgust, all described in a lurid tone that befits the subject: the living dead. Or the Un-Dead, as the book's other hero, my countryman Van Helsing, calls them.

Sadly, Van Helsing is one of my main problems with the book. While I love his heroism, his 'Let's-do-it' attitude and his unceasing struggle for Mina's soul, I find him entirely unconvincing as a Dutchman. I wish to God (with a crucifix and everything!) that I could switch off my inner linguist and appreciate the story for its narrative qualities rather than its linguistic aspects, but Stoker has Van Helsing indulge in so many linguistic improbabilities ('Are you of belief now, friend John?') that it quite took me out of the story, again and again and again. I'm aware this is not a problem that will bother many readers, but I for one dearly wish Stoker had listened to some actual Dutchmen before making the hero of his story one. Then perhaps he also would have refrained from making the poor man mutter German whenever he is supposed to speak his mother tongue. ('Mein Gott' is German, Mr Stoker. I mean, really.)

Linguistic inaccuracies aside (there are many in the book), Dracula has a few more problems. For one thing, the bad guy doesn't make enough appearances. Whenever Stoker focuses on Dracula, the story comes alive -- menace drips off the pages, and the reader finds himself alternately shivering with excitement and recoiling in horror. However, when Dracula is not around (which is most of the second half of the book), the story loses power, to the point where the second half of the book is actually quite dull. In addition, the story seems a little random and unfocused. Remember the 1992 film, in which Dracula obsesses about Mina Harker (Jonathan's wife) because she is his long-lost wife reincarnated? That conceit had grandeur, romance, passion, tragedy. And what was more, it made sense. It explained why Dracula comes all the way from Transylvania to England to find Mina, and why he wants to make her his bride despite the fact that she is being protected by people who clearly want him dead. In the book, however, Mina is merely Jonathan's wife (no reincarnation involved), a random lady Dracula has sunk his teeth into, and while this entitles her to some sympathy, it lacks the grand romantic quality the film had. I guess it's unfair to blame an author for not thinking of an improvement film-makers later made to his story, but I think Stoker rather missed an opportunity there.

And then there's the fact that Stoker seems to be an early proponent of the Robert Jordan School of Writing, meaning he takes an awful lot of time setting the scene, only to end the book on a whimper. The ending to Dracula is so anticlimactic it's rather baffling. Did Stoker run out of paper and ink? Did he want to finish the story before Dracula's brides came and got him? I guess we'll never know.

Still, despite its many flaws Dracula is an exciting read (well, the first half is, anyway), and Stoker undeniably left a legacy that will last for centuries to come. In that respect, Dracula deserves all the praise that has been heaped on it. I still think it could have been better, though. Much better. ...more

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Jul 21, 2019 JV (semi-hiatus) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, classics, completed-series, there-was-a-crooked-man

"There is reason that all things are as they are, and did you see with my eyes and know with my knowledge, you would perhaps better understand. [...] But there are things that you know not, but that you shall know, and bless me for knowing, though they are not pleasant things."

Nothing lasts forever.

Or so they say... at least for this particular being with protuberant teeth itching for yet another slice of an extra rare slab of steak and some bloody juice.

Isn't it a wonder that, once, there

"There is reason that all things are as they are, and did you see with my eyes and know with my knowledge, you would perhaps better understand. [...] But there are things that you know not, but that you shall know, and bless me for knowing, though they are not pleasant things."

Nothing lasts forever.

Or so they say... at least for this particular being with protuberant teeth itching for yet another slice of an extra rare slab of steak and some bloody juice.

Isn't it a wonder that, once, there was this great and noble race, full of humanity and yet they become a blight upon the land, transforming into the deadly scourge that blots out all hope and becoming the very figure that we dread and detest?

"Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things old and new which must not be contemplate by men’s eyes, because they know – or think they know – some things which other men have told them."

If you were to read the haunting subtexts that lie within this novel, it's imminently disturbing. Is it enough that we create our own monsters or that we are monsters ourselves? For if humans were to be given these: immortality, power, youth, and ever-lasting beauty, the world would eventually plunge into never-ending darkness. Acquire the lot of them and what you will find is a soul devoid of humanity, only to be filled eventually with malice and greed. Stare at the mirror and one would hardly see any reflection at all. Monsters exist and they do come in many seductive forms, one of them is but the nosferatu. Soon you'll be mesmerised by its gaze that you'll eventually drop everything (your pants or knickers included) and submit yourself as a tasty little morsel that robs you of your very essence. Yet again, some fancy the modern version of the vampir like the shining, ever so shimmering Edward Cullen. Hoomans are curiouser and curiouser indeed!

Audiobook rating (narrated by Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, Katherine Kellgren, Susan Duerden, John Lee, Graeme Malcolm, and Steven Crossley):
Narrative voice & style - ★★★★★
Vocal characterisation - ★★★★★
Inflexion & intonation - ★★★★★
Voice quality - ★★★★★
Audiobook verdict - ★★★★★ (Exquisite performance, superbly brilliant, a must-have!) ...more

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May 15, 2013 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, fantasy, literature, vampire, gothic, horror, irish, classic

Dracula (Dracula of Stoker Family #1), Bram Stoker
Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It introduced Count Dracula, and established many conventions of subsequent vampire fantasy. The novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and of the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and a woman led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. The story is told in epistolary Dracula (Dracula of Stoker Family #1), Bram Stoker
Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It introduced Count Dracula, and established many conventions of subsequent vampire fantasy. The novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and of the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and a woman led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. The story is told in epistolary format, as a series of letters, diary entries, newspaper articles, and ships' log entries, whose narrators are the novel's protagonists, and occasionally supplemented with newspaper clippings relating events not directly witnessed.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: نوزدهم ماه می سال 2003 میلادی
عنوان: دراکولا؛ نویسنده: برام استوکر؛ مترجم: جمشید اسکندانی؛ تهران، نشر ثالث، 1376؛ در دو جلد؛ شابک دوره دو جلدی: 9649056610؛ چاپ دوم 1378؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایرلندی - سده 19 م
مشهورترین داستان «برام استوکر»، نویسنده ی ایرلندی ست، که به واسطه ی حضور شخصیت خون آشامی به نام: «کنت دراکولا»، بر سر زبان‌ها افتاد. «برام استوکر» در سال 1890 میلادی، در لندن، با «آرمینیوس وامبری»، شرقشناس مجارستانی، آشنا، و از آن طریق با افسانه‌ های شاهزاده «ولاد سوم دراکولا»، اهل رومانی، آشنا گردید. همین امر، زمینه ی نوشتن داستان «دراکولا»، به قلم «برام استوکر» گشت، که در سال 1897 میلادی منتشر شد. پیش از آغاز به نگارش داستان، «استوکر» هشت سال را، به پژوهش و بررسی، در فرهنگ‌های اروپا، و خواندن افسانه‌ های مربوط به خون آشامان کرده بودند. داستان «دراکولا»، به صورت یک رشته مکاتبات، و صفحاتی از دفتر خاطرات شخصیت‌های داستان، روایت می‌شود. «دراکولا»، اشرافزاده ی تنها، و مرموزی ست، که همه ی اطرافیان خود را، از دست داده است. همچنین یکی از شخصیت‌های داستان، به نام: «جاناتان هارکر»، آنگاه که وارد قصر «کُنت دراکولا» می‌شود، با برخورد مودبانه، و احترام آمیز او، مواجه می‌گردد. براساس یادداشت‌های «جاناتان هارکر»، جناب «کنت دراکولا»، کتاب خواندن را دوست دارد، و صاحب کتابخانه‌ ای بسیار بزرگ، و غنی، از کتب با ارزش و کهن است. به گفته ی خود «دراکولا»: کتاب‌هایش بهترین دوستانش هستند، و در هر شرایطی، او را یاری کرده‌ اند. «کنت دراکولا» موجودی تنهاست، و خود او می‌گوید: «به علت از دست دادن عزیزان بیشماری از سال‌ها پیش، با شادی و شادمانی وداع گفته، و در حال حاضر، در دنیای تاریکی از غم و اندوه، زندگی می‌کنم، که خوشی و خوشحالی در آن جایی ندارد». پایان نقل. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Oct 25, 2017 Matt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Matt by: BAM The Bibliomaniac

Shelves: equinox-book-challenge, audiobook, buddy-read

Another re-read, perfect for Horror Week on Goodreads:

A classic monster tale I have enjoyed before, but could not wait to revisit. Young solicitor Johnathan Harker finds himself travelling through the Hungarian countryside and into Romania, on his way to a castle in the heart of Transylvania. There, one Count Dracula awaits Harker and proves to be an odd, yet amenable, host. Seeking to finalise a land deal in England, Harker and Dracula talk long into the night, though the former feels that Another re-read, perfect for Horror Week on Goodreads:

A classic monster tale I have enjoyed before, but could not wait to revisit. Young solicitor Johnathan Harker finds himself travelling through the Hungarian countryside and into Romania, on his way to a castle in the heart of Transylvania. There, one Count Dracula awaits Harker and proves to be an odd, yet amenable, host. Seeking to finalise a land deal in England, Harker and Dracula talk long into the night, though the former feels that there is something odd about his host. It is only when things occur that Harker realises that Count Dracula is nothing like any man he has met before and eventually escapes the confines of the castle. Back in England, Harker’s fiancée, Mina, and her close friend, Lucy, are going through their own ordeals. Lucy Westenra suffers through significant bouts of sleepwalking. The two women travel to the seaside to clear their heads, but Lucy encounters someone the reader knows to be Dracula during one of her night jaunts and is eventually discovered with two minute puncture holes on her neck. Unsure of what to do, Westenra is sent to see Dr. Johnathan Seward, one of her suitors and director of the local mental hospital. When Dr. Seward cannot deduce all of these symptoms, he calls upon the renowned Dr. Abraham Van Helsing in Amsterdam to consult. When Van Helsing arrives and begins some of his early queries, he is highly interested, though cannot be completely sure that he has a diagnosis of yet. Slowly, Lucy begins to fade from this mysterious neck injury and eventually died of her injuries, though her body transforms into a vampire of sorts, paralleling some of the actions Count Dracula is known to have been committing. Van Helsing works with Seward to locate the body and it is at this time that the Dutch doctor deduces that there is something eerie at work. Studying the situation before him, Van Helsing proposes the seemingly barbaric act of driving a stake through Lucy’s heart and then decapitating her, which is the only way to ensure that her spirit will be freed, according to some of his research and ancient lore. Done with that issue, but still needing to resolve the larger concern at hand, Van Helsing gathers a group to hunt down the Count, who seems to have taken up residence in England, and drive him back to Transylvania. Lurking in the dark and gloomy areas of Eastern Europe, Van Helsing prepares for the fight of his life, armed with only the most basic medicaments, in hopes of slaying this monster once and for all. Stoker lays the groundwork for a truly bone-chilling tale that has stood the test of time. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has the wherewithal to delve deep into the heart of a sensational 19th century story of horror and mayhem.

I am still kicking myself that I had not ever read this sensational piece of fiction before last year. Surely one of the early stories that has fostered such a strong tie between Dracula and Hallowe’en, Bram Stoker’s work provides the reader not only with thorough entertainment, but leaves a shiver up their spine every time they enter a dark room. With a cast of powerful characters, Stoker weaves his tale in such a way that the story never loses its momentum. Harker, Seward, and Van Helsing are all well-crafted and provides powerful contrasts throughout the narrative, while Count Dracula is not only eerie in his presentation, but also one of the scariest villains in 19th century literature. There need not be outward descriptions of gore and slaying to get to the root of the suspense in this novel, which seems to differ from much of the writing in the genre today, where gushing blood and guts pepper the pages of every book imaginable. The narrative is also ever-evolving, helped significantly by the journal-based writing that Stoker has undertaken. The reader is transported through the story using these varied perspectives (and some press clippings), rather than a straight delivery of the story from a single point of view. This surely enhances the larger package and does much to provide the reader with even more fright, at certain times. There are surely many stories taking place here, some of which deal directly with the issue at hand (read: Dracula), while others seem to solve themselves throughout the numerous journal entries. Whatever the approach, Stoker captivates the reader such that there is a strong desire to know how it all ends and if Van Helsing lives up to his more colloquial moniker of ‘Vampire Hunter’. I wish to add for those who wish to take the audiobook approach, as I have done, the Audible version, with a full cast (including Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, and John Lee), adds yet another dimension to this story and should not be discounted.

Kudos, Mr. Stoker, for such a riveting piece. I can only hope to find the time to read some of your other work, as well as that of your descendants, who seem to want to carry the torch and provide more Dracula for the modern reader.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... ...more

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Sep 02, 2018 Luffy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Dracula, the book, struck a chord with me. In it was a fight between good and evil. Modern vampires have great seduction powers. I never liked that. I also didn't like vampires in many Urban Fantasy books. The Hollows series spring to mind. The greatest change in the villainous vampires arises in Anne Rice's books. It was a perfect case study of an idea done to the death.

In Dracula, several people record their impressions. I 'pretend' to know that the women in the books, Lucy and Mina, have the Dracula, the book, struck a chord with me. In it was a fight between good and evil. Modern vampires have great seduction powers. I never liked that. I also didn't like vampires in many Urban Fantasy books. The Hollows series spring to mind. The greatest change in the villainous vampires arises in Anne Rice's books. It was a perfect case study of an idea done to the death.

In Dracula, several people record their impressions. I 'pretend' to know that the women in the books, Lucy and Mina, have the same voice. Maybe the men are slightly different. They possess greater vocabulary, such as Lord Godalming's, and Jonathan Harker's recollections. Van Helsing, being a foreigner has his mistakes in grammar, and therefore has the most unique voice.

Throughout the book, we don't see the vampire Dracula triumph much. Except maybe when he turns Lucy into an undead. But even then, through the guiding hands and the knowledge of van Helsing, she is freed from her shackles. But Jonathan escapes from his imprisonment. And the vampire cannot settle in London. He was found out by our 'A-team' and had to flee for his life. He expresses baffled malignity.

It is the testament to Bram Stoker's neatness that I could follow most of the story. And I'm in awe of his mind, which chronicles the entire story via journal entries (or phonograph recordings in the case of John Steward), all of which are dated. I don't mean outdated, but dated, day after day. And I mourned the death of Quincy Morris, gallant to the end, dying with a smile on his lips.

The entire book defies what happens in movies and series (of which latter I've watched only True Blood). Most people don't read books regularly. So their idea of the vampire comes from horror movies. And Boris Karloff and especially Bela Lugosi as vampires are etched in the minds of most people. I don't think cinephiles will get any influence from the 1992 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. That was a mess. The book still stands proud. As it should. Thus ends my review on 02 Sep 2018. ...more

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Nov 03, 2008 Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Vampire fans

Shelves: classic-horror, vampire, heroine-i-adore, owned-copy, epistolary-narrative, started-but-put-down, favorites, hero-to-die-for, occult-detective

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I highly recommend reading this to any fans of the vampire genre. It is a commitment and investment for the reader, but it is worthwhile. While Dracula is not the 1st vampire novel/story, it has firmly established many of the conventions of the vampire genre. I must say that no movie version I have watched does this justice. Bram Stoker's Dracula might have been a somewhat faithful rendition, but it took unforgivable liberties with the relationship between Mina and Dracula, and downplayed the ...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Henry Avila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"Children of the night what music they play" ; Jonathan Hawker hears those chilling, famous words from the inhuman appearing Count Dracula, in the remote Castle Dracula , Transylvania (Romania) . What started out as a simple real estate deal by an English solicitor and a foreign nobleman, becomes a blood sucking nightmare.
The shell shocked Jonathan is imprisoned by the creepy Count, a " person" you wouldn't want to see in a dark alley on a moonless midnight walk. Three strange , bizarre , but "Children of the night what music they play" ; Jonathan Hawker hears those chilling, famous words from the inhuman appearing Count Dracula, in the remote Castle Dracula , Transylvania (Romania) . What started out as a simple real estate deal by an English solicitor and a foreign nobleman, becomes a blood sucking nightmare.
The shell shocked Jonathan is imprisoned by the creepy Count, a " person" you wouldn't want to see in a dark alley on a moonless midnight walk. Three strange , bizarre , but very beautiful women, brides of Dracula, the weird sisters, are in his room looking not quite real. When Dracula arrives also, they fade away.... into nothingness . Next day the Englishman can't decide if what he saw last night was a dream or fact...
Either way the terrified Mr. Hawker escapes , as if his life depended on it, not caring about those eerie wolves , surrounding the building and disappears... Back in "civilized", safe England his fiance Mina on vacation in Whitby, is visiting her sick, good friend Lucy Westenra, she becomes very pale too, almost like ill Lucy who is losing blood, why ? Dr. Seward with the help of Dr.Van Helsing an expert in little known diseases, gives her Lucy, four transfusions, still she becomes weaker, and small punctures are spotted on Miss Westenra's neck, what can they be? A gruesome Bat is seen flying outside the window, lurking about waiting for who knows what... mists come into poor Lucy's room... Dr. Seward, the head of an insane asylum, has a star inmate named Renfield he likes keeping busy, by eating flies and spiders. Something unnatural is disturbing the disturb man. Renfield even attempts to kill the good doctor. On the continent the dazed Jonathan, is found in a hospital in Budapest, disclosing events, in his journal, read by Mina when they get him back home..Dracula is seen by Hawker in England, or was this man, the undead fiend , actually the Count? Better speak to Dr. Van Helsing, who they say has read about vampires and is an expert on the subject. This old Dutchman doesn't mind getting his hands dirty....The novel has inspired countless films, books and television shows...the endless flow of vampires stories more than a century after this classic was published.There is an obvious reason for this phenomenon...It still scares people ...in an entertaining manner... The historical figure was a Romanian Prince, Vlad 111 or Dracula, ( son 0f Dracul, the Dragon) 1431- 1476, known as the Impaler, an alias he acquired , and well deserved too...for his bloody treatment of captured soldiers...
his many enemies, by the thousands...he is a national hero. ...more

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Oct 27, 2017 Hannah Greendale rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, epistolary, gothic

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.

Despite being hailed "the most famous figure of seductive evil" in literature, Count Dracula proves to be neither scary nor seductive.

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Feb 09, 2014 Carmen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone on Earth

Shelves: fiction, favorites, classics, horror, published1897, traditionally-published, he-says, irish-author

No man knows till he experiences it, what it is to feel his own life-blood drawn away into the veins of the woman he loves.

This seems to be my first time reading Dracula, and I LOVED IT. I say "seems" because I swear I've read it before. However, that would have been ages ago. Or a byproduct of seeing 10 million different Dracula interpretations before the age of 20. o.O So it was fresh and relatively new to me. I was surprised by the twists and turns. I thought I would be able to reasonably ...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Paquita Maria Sanchez rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ireland, literature

This was neither as bad as I assumed it would be or (nor?) as good as I eventually started thinking it could be. Much as I love receiving real mail, whether it's a letter, present, post card, or even just a book I ordered (Shucks, for me? Thanks, me!), the epistolary form just doesn't generally jiggle my jolly parts. This is especially true when a lot of what you're reading is the journals of a bunch of people you'd never even want to have passing conversations with, Dr. Van Helsing and Dr. This was neither as bad as I assumed it would be or (nor?) as good as I eventually started thinking it could be. Much as I love receiving real mail, whether it's a letter, present, post card, or even just a book I ordered (Shucks, for me? Thanks, me!), the epistolary form just doesn't generally jiggle my jolly parts. This is especially true when a lot of what you're reading is the journals of a bunch of people you'd never even want to have passing conversations with, Dr. Van Helsing and Dr. Seward being obvious exceptions. Regardless, this is one of those books that fall under my largely arbitrary and completely self-imposed "Must Read Before I'm Dead" list. In the midst of being asphyxiated by Proustian self-reckoning, I decided to take a break from being challenged and read something light. You know, like a Gothic novel about an immortal Vlad Tepes and his baby-eating whore-beasts.

It's funny what pop culture'll do to ya. I'd heard over and over again that this was like the Book of Genesis for the whole Twilight romancing the undead thing that weirds me out anew with each internet-drenched day. I took this "Bram Stoker's Hawt Vampires Makin' Tender Love" idea at face-value because I've seen the Coppola flick. Remember? A lovelorn Oldman, a sexually-repressed and reincarnated Ryder, absinth, slow-dancing in a castle with candles and string-music and shit, vampire nipple-sucking, orgasm-inducing illnesses, etc.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong again. Turns out, the movie's entire romantic twist on the story was really just artistic license on roids, and all Mina is to Dracula is a leisurely Sunday brunch. There is straight-up NUUUUTHING saucy here, unless you count Mina and Jonathan Harker's relationship which is about as sexy as a box of Quaker Oats. I don't mean to insinuate that I was disappointed by this difference between book and screen as, needless to say, I have yet find myself reaching for the 19th-century literary fiction shelf when I feeeeeel like maaakin' lurrrrve. Still, I think it's a distinction which inquiring minds may appreciate knowing before committing to this occasionally exciting but largely sloggy story. The good parts were great, but the last 60-ish pages-- appropriately set on a bunch of fucking boats just inching their way along the river--moved so slowly, became so tedious that I just felt like screaming "Christ Almighty, Dracula, would you just eat these fuckers already?" If you want to know whether he does or not, you'll have to suffer through the end like I did. The first half is fun, though! (Twss!!)

Oh, and how dare you keep Tom Waits locked up in a cage. That's it, I'm calling your mother. ...more

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May 12, 2011 Emily May rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, horror, clothbound-own, classics

I've grown to appreciate this more with age - especially as I've put more distance between myself and the time I studied Dracula at school. But I still think it's overrated. Dracula isn't nearly scary enough, Jonathan Harker is a wet mop of a protagonist, Mina is annoying and the best character [spoiler alert!] gets killed less than halfway into the book. .

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Apr 24, 2016 Lola rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic, adult, read-for-school, classics, read-in-french, vampires

I turned the first page of this universally loved classic thinking that I was going to plunge into one of the world’s best love stories ever written, between Dracula and a lovely lady.

Say what? Love story? BOUAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Right. I blame modern TV shows and movies for growing that thought into my mind over the years. Oh and this, too: (view spoiler). You're one deceiving cover. Dracula is such a romanticized character nowadays that being exposed to his true – Bram Stoker style ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 Ginger rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Ginger by: Terry

Shelves: audio, 2018

I want to suck your blood!!
What an amazing Gothic classic to listen too!

So, I finally did it. I took on the granddaddy of all vampire books. I decided to listen to this one instead of reading it due to a great recommendation from a friend on here.
Thanks Terry!

I think this was a great decision to do since the characters in the audio book were excellent, especially Susan Duerden. Her voice was beautiful and mesmerizing as Lucy Westenra! All the narrators did such a great job with each character.

...more

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Jan 08, 2019 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paperback, horror-etc, classics, ha-scary-tbr, own

Meh, it wasn’t as great as I was hoping. Sucks too because I love this beautiful little door stopper of a book. I hugged it often! Bastards! Making something so adorable that’s going in the trade in box. Sigh. I really loved the beginning, and don’t get me wrong, it was still good ....just not fantastic for me. I’m glad most everyone else in the world loved it

Happy Reading!!

Mel ...more

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Mar 22, 2018 Julia Ash rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, classic, plagues-vampires-zombies-werewolves, favorites

A classic literary masterpiece!!!

Here's a example of Stoker's writing, from Jonathan Harker's journal shortly after he was taken prisoner by Count Dracula in his castle:

"I looked out over the beautiful expanse, bathed in soft yellow moonlight till it was almost as light as day. In the soft light the distant hills became melted, and the shadows in the valleys and gorges of velvety blackness."

and then...

"But my feelings turned to repulsion and terror when I saw the whole man slowly emerge from ...more

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Oct 29, 2009 J.G. Keely rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uk-and-ireland, horror, reviewed, novel, gothic

Almost every author will fall into one of two camps: the active, and the reactive. The active author looks at the world around them and decides to write about what they see. They sit down and think: "I'm going to write a story, the subtext of which will provide my analysis of Victorian sexual mores". They then construct the story around this theme, creating characters to show different aspects and constructing a plot which moves from general observations to specific insights.

Then there are the ...more

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Apr 19, 2008 Jason Pettus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read a hundred so-called "classic" books for the first time, then write reports on whether or not I think they deserve the label

Book #13: Dracula, by Bram Stoker (1897)

The story in a nutshell:
To best understand the storyline of Dracula, it's important to imagine yourself as ...more

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Jan 19, 2016 Apatt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, horror

“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.”

This iconic quote illustrates the unfathomable depth of Dracula’s evil. Not only does he have terrible taste in music (wolf metal, anyone?), he is keen to inflict his awful taste on poor Jonathan Harker who is already regretting his visit to Dracula’s castle. If the novel was set in the present day the Count probably would have put on “Yoko Ono’s Greatest Hits”. “Listen to her. Nice Japanese lady. What music she makes.”. At which ...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Lyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When I talked to my high school English teacher about my experience reading this, and how it compared to the racy Canterbury Tales, she made an erudite and astute observation, "Human nature doesn't change".

This changed the literary landscape of horror writing since. Sexual, sensual, creepy and still terrifying today.

This review, published in June 2015, is dedicated to a truly great man, Sir Christopher Lee, who passed away in 2015. Sir Christopher portrayed Dracula in the 1958 film Horror of ...more

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Sep 25, 2007 Paul Bryant rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, spooky-ookums

If I was Bram Stoker I’d remake the old Melanie hit – remember this one?

Look what they done to my song, ma
look what they done to my song
well it's the only thing that I could do half right
and it's turning out all wrong ma
look what they done to my song

Which the Count would have sung as

Uite ce au facut sa ma cantec, mama
Uite ce au facut cintecul meu e singurul
lucru care i s-ar putea face jumatate
dreptate si e intorcandu-se in toate regula mama
uite ce au facut sa ma cintec

Reviewing Dracula in If I was Bram Stoker I’d remake the old Melanie hit – remember this one?

Look what they done to my song, ma
look what they done to my song
well it's the only thing that I could do half right
and it's turning out all wrong ma
look what they done to my song

Which the Count would have sung as

Uite ce au facut sa ma cantec, mama
Uite ce au facut cintecul meu e singurul
lucru care i s-ar putea face jumatate
dreptate si e intorcandu-se in toate regula mama
uite ce au facut sa ma cintec

Reviewing Dracula in this twilight age of loin-thrustingly pert young vampettes and vamparistas is like extolling the sexual allure of Clara Bow and Jean Harlow.

Dracula was the first “grown up” book I ever read. Hey, 12 year old PB, good choice! It made my pulse pound and my skin horripilated madly. But I do not think this would happen to a modern reader. Poor old recycled Dracula, rewritten, cartooned, parodied, Buffyfied, sliced, diced, crimped, carved, and ripped off in every one of a million ways, undead you were and undead you still are, if only as a Halloween costume and a footnote to an essay about Stephanie Meyer.

Given all of that, and given the high Victorian never use one word where a bucketful will do style of Mr Stoker, I still think it's worth five of my stars. It seethes with that wonderful sexual hysteria the Victorians loved writing about, from Wuthering Heights to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. They couldn't mention anything directly so they did their best with linguistic nodding and winking, and much mention of purity, and chasteness and its opposite unchasteness. Bosoms were okay, anything beneath waist level was absolutely not, until you got to shapely ankles and well-turned feet. So you can see they were gagging for it, and the writers were ferociously finding metaphors for writing about sex; and Bram Stoker found vampires. The strong sick pall of sexual dread which suffuses Dracula like a London pea-souper is seduction. This is what Stoker wants to write about - seduction and sexual enslavement, or, why do good girls fall for such very bad men? The Count is the embodiment of all seducers. He comes around at night and he gets into your fiance's bedchamber, so naturally you have to drive a big phallus right through his heart. I get that. Bram Stoker is practically frothing about all of this.
Bram Stoker invents most of the trappings of vampires right here and throws in a handful of the most outrageous scenes (three beautiful young female vampires in the dead of night overheard squabbling about who should get the baby they have got in the bag they're holding up; three men all giving one woman a blood transfusion using only a rubber hose; the Count scrabbling up a castle wall as fast as a man could run, all great stuff).

I say read Bram Stoker, read Let the Right One In, and step delicately around Twilight. ...more

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Nov 17, 2018 Tahera rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-ebook, vampires, fang-business, classics

I loved how the entire book was so atmospheric, especially the beginning and end portions even though the entire book was written in the form of journal entries by all the major characters involved.

The only thing I could not get my mind around though was the Lucy Westenra's blood transfusion episodes....that did defy logic a bit.

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About Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker

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He was born Abraham Stoker in 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent – then as now called "The Crescent" – in Fairview, a coastal suburb of Dublin, Ireland. His parents were Abraham Stoker and the feminist Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely. Stoker was the third of seven children. Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Clontarf Church of Ireland parish and attended the parish church (St. John the Baptist He was born Abraham Stoker in 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent – then as now called "The Crescent" – in Fairview, a coastal suburb of Dublin, Ireland. His parents were Abraham Stoker and the feminist Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely. Stoker was the third of seven children. Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Clontarf Church of Ireland parish and attended the parish church (St. John the Baptist located on Seafield Road West) with their children, who were both baptised there.

Stoker was an invalid until he started school at the age of seven — when he made a complete and astounding recovery. Of this time, Stoker 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, even excelling as an athlete (he was named University Athlete) at Trinity College, Dublin (1864 – 70), from which he graduated with honours in mathematics. He was auditor of the College Historical Society and president of the University Philosophical Society, where his first paper was on "Sensationalism in Fiction and Society".

In 1876, while employed as a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote a non-fiction book (The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland, published 1879) 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. He also wrote stories, and in 1872 "The Crystal Cup" was published by the London Society, followed by "The Chain of Destiny" in four parts in The Shamrock.

In 1878 Stoker married Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde. The couple moved to London, where Stoker became business manager (at first as acting-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 was cremated and his ashes placed in a display urn at Golders Green Crematorium. After Irving Noel Stoker's death in 1961, his ashes were added to that urn. The original plan had been to keep his parents' ashes together, but after Florence Stoker's death her ashes were scattered at the Gardens of Rest.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker ...more