"Dracula" is the granddaddy of them all
I finished reading Bram Stoker’s classic horror tale, "Dracula," last Thursday, and the book was everything that I expected.
Originally published in 1897, "Dracula" is probably the greatest horror novel ever written. It’s the granddaddy of them all, and it’s also regarded as a literary classic.
You may have seen every vampire movie ever made, but you don’t know the real Dracula until you’ve read Stoker’s book, the book that created the "Dracula" legend. Of course, unless you’ve spent your life under a rock, you know the general story, but I assure you that the book holds more than a few surprises for the first-time reader.
The story begins when Jonathan Harker, an English lawyer, is invited to Count Dracula’s castle to help Dracula buy a house in London. Harker soon discovers that he is a prisoner in the castle and barely escapes with his life later in the story.
Not long afterward, Dracula makes his way to England and is soon menacing Harker's fiancée, Mina, and her vivacious friend, Lucy. Lucy begins to waste away suspiciously, and all of her suitors begin to fret. Lucy’s gentlemen callers are an unusual collection of characters: Arthur Holmwood, a.k.a. Lord Godalming; an American cowboy named Quincey Morris who always carries a bowie knife; and an asylum psychiatrist, Dr. John Seward.
Seward calls in his old teacher, Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Van Helsing immediately determines the cause of Lucy's condition, but he is unable to save her.
Lucy is buried, but soon afterward the newspapers report a ghostly woman stalking children in the night. Van Helsing, knowing that this means that Lucy has become a vampire, confides in Seward, Arthur, and Morris, who help track her down, and put her out of commission.
Around the same time, Harker arrives home from Transylvania. He and Mina join the coalition, who now turns its attention to dealing with Dracula himself.
After Dracula learns of the plot against him, he takes revenge by visiting - and biting - Mina at least three times. Dracula flees back to his castle in Transylvania, followed by Van Helsing's gang. What happens next? You’ll have to read the book to find out. I won’t spoil it for you here.
I decided to read the book for two reasons. "Dracula" is No. 37 on the Horror Writers Association’s Recommended Reading List, and I figured that I’d waited long enough to read Stoker’s classic.
I enjoyed the book because, despite having seen more than a few renditions of the book in film, the book still proved different – and better – than the screen versions of the story that I’d seen. For that reason alone, it’s worth reading.
Will "Dracula" be read 100 years from now? Will it stand the test of time? Definitely. No question. The book is still widely read 100 years after its first publication, and long after we’re all dust, people will still be reading it.
In the end, the book is great. The suspense is good, the story is compelling and it’s full of more than a few surprises. Do yourself a favor and read the novel that made Dracula a legend. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the book a 9.6.
Originally published in 1897, "Dracula" is probably the greatest horror novel ever written. It’s the granddaddy of them all, and it’s also regarded as a literary classic.
You may have seen every vampire movie ever made, but you don’t know the real Dracula until you’ve read Stoker’s book, the book that created the "Dracula" legend. Of course, unless you’ve spent your life under a rock, you know the general story, but I assure you that the book holds more than a few surprises for the first-time reader.
The story begins when Jonathan Harker, an English lawyer, is invited to Count Dracula’s castle to help Dracula buy a house in London. Harker soon discovers that he is a prisoner in the castle and barely escapes with his life later in the story.
Not long afterward, Dracula makes his way to England and is soon menacing Harker's fiancée, Mina, and her vivacious friend, Lucy. Lucy begins to waste away suspiciously, and all of her suitors begin to fret. Lucy’s gentlemen callers are an unusual collection of characters: Arthur Holmwood, a.k.a. Lord Godalming; an American cowboy named Quincey Morris who always carries a bowie knife; and an asylum psychiatrist, Dr. John Seward.
Seward calls in his old teacher, Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Van Helsing immediately determines the cause of Lucy's condition, but he is unable to save her.
Lucy is buried, but soon afterward the newspapers report a ghostly woman stalking children in the night. Van Helsing, knowing that this means that Lucy has become a vampire, confides in Seward, Arthur, and Morris, who help track her down, and put her out of commission.
Around the same time, Harker arrives home from Transylvania. He and Mina join the coalition, who now turns its attention to dealing with Dracula himself.
After Dracula learns of the plot against him, he takes revenge by visiting - and biting - Mina at least three times. Dracula flees back to his castle in Transylvania, followed by Van Helsing's gang. What happens next? You’ll have to read the book to find out. I won’t spoil it for you here.
I decided to read the book for two reasons. "Dracula" is No. 37 on the Horror Writers Association’s Recommended Reading List, and I figured that I’d waited long enough to read Stoker’s classic.
I enjoyed the book because, despite having seen more than a few renditions of the book in film, the book still proved different – and better – than the screen versions of the story that I’d seen. For that reason alone, it’s worth reading.
Will "Dracula" be read 100 years from now? Will it stand the test of time? Definitely. No question. The book is still widely read 100 years after its first publication, and long after we’re all dust, people will still be reading it.
In the end, the book is great. The suspense is good, the story is compelling and it’s full of more than a few surprises. Do yourself a favor and read the novel that made Dracula a legend. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the book a 9.6.
posted by Lee Peacock at 12:48 PM
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