My book and the first American copy published in 1899 that I would literally kill to have.

Today is the last review for October and my thirtieth post in a row. I decided to conclude the month by reviewing a classic work of literary art, Dracula by Bram Stoker. This book was written in 1897 and is a gothic, horror novel. I would consider it to be one of the most, if not the most, famous vampire stories. It’s not the oldest but it’s certainly one of the most influential. It has spawned countless movies (like Nosferatu which I reviewed yesterday) and has been the inspiration behind many of today’s modern vampire stories. I’ll summarize the plot of the story and my thoughts will be at the end.

The Synopsis

Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor, is visiting Count Dracula in the Carpathian Mountains, near Transylvania. The Count has recently purchased land in England through Jonathan’s employer and so Jonathan was sent to help with legal details. Jonathan’s journey to Dracula’s home is unsettling due to the superstitious locals he meets along the way that try to convince him not to go. Upon arrival, he is impressed with the Count’s manners and begins to feel at ease but after a short while he realizes he is a prisoner in the massive castle. He begins to explore when the Count is not around and discovers terrible things. Such things as three seductive women with sharp teeth that can appear out of the dust in the moonlight and the Count crawling down the outer walls of the castle using only his hands and feet. Jonathan manages to barely escape with his life and while he’s escaping Count Dracula is headed to his new home in England.  The two will eventually meet again and Jonathan, along with his wife and friends, will be forced to face Count Dracula.

My Thoughts

I absolutely love this book. I was one of those nerdy kids in high school that was super excited to read this and write an essay about it, haha. Even though it was written in 1897 it is not hard to read or get into at all. I feel like the main reason people don’t read more of the classics is because the way that they’re written can be intimidating but Dracula isn’t like that. I mean, of course, it’s very proper and formal writing but it’s an easily understandable story. The book is written as a series of journal entries with some newspaper clippings and it uses different narrators. I really like this because it keeps the story interesting and you get to know all of the characters. If you want to know more about Dracula I highly recommend checking out the Wikipedia page for it.

Count Dracula doesn’t much resemble our idea of vampires today but he is a true monster that could eat the Twilight vampires for breakfast, haha. If you’ve never read this book I highly recommend that you do. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this book! Thank you for reading and have a great day!