Dracula by Bram Stoker

Guest review of an old classic.

​As a literary experience I enjoyed this more than I expected to, it is written as journals and letters which was hard to adjust to but I eventually settled into it. Some sections seemed dreary and pointless until I realised that characters and relationships were being drawn up which became relevant later. The language is very different but again you settle into it eventually. Although we all think we know our Vampire theology it’s interesting taking a dive into the source material, all is not quite as Hammer Horror studios would have us believe... and it’s all good.

Given that this was published 1897 it’s odd to read a perspective of women twenty-one years before they could vote, Mina Harker is described as being blessed with a man's brain: methodical and analytical. With regard to her role in the plot it’s clear that the success of the effort was due to the combined mental efforts of Prof. Van Helsing and Mina Harker, something that is overlooked in any adaptation I have seen. I wonder if Mr Stoker was making a subtle point here, clearly it was too subtle.

If I were to level one criticism at the story it would be that the building to the inevitable clash with the count ended in a bit of an anti climax, as in ‘that went well‘.

Any relation to that dreadful film of 1992 is quite minor, they took the basic plot and some of the events but it is quite an insult to the book I think.

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Published by ​ Archibald Constable and Company on 26 May 1897.

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 Review by Andy Pennington.

Rugged Coastline: Islands and Maritime Tales ​