The New Annotated Dracula
by Bram Stoker
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bram StokerEditor: Leslie S. Klinger
Foreword: Leslie S. Klinger
Introduction: Neil Gaiman
Contributor: Janet Byrne
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-17
ISBN: 0393064506
Number of pages: 672
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Book Reviews of The New Annotated Dracula
Book Review: "We want no proofs; we ask none to believe us!"
Summary: 5 Stars
Leslie S Klinger is a renowned scholar-author who has also produced brilliant works such as The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes [Vols I, II and III] and this New Annotated Dracula is the most recent annotated work on the famous 1897 Gothic horror novel penned by Bram Stoker. The other annotated Dracula works that are well-known are by renowned Dracula scholar Leonard Wolf[ 1975 & 1993 versions], and also the 1979 "The Essential Dracula" by Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu.
Plot summary: The story of Dracula the vampire is told through a series of journal entries and letters `voiced' by several narrators/protagonists. This classic tale of terror begins with young Jonathan Harker, an Englishman who travels to the Carpathian region to provide legal advice to the mysterious Count Dracula who is in the midst of settling a real-estate transaction located in England. Harker is at first charmed by Dracula, but this soon turns to revulsion and horror when he becomes acquainted with Dracula's nocturnal activities, and barely survives an encounter with Dracula's brides. Soon after, the Demeter, a Russian ship is found on the shores of Whitby, in England with its crew missing [only the Captain's body is found]. Dracula has found his way to England and starts moving in on his prey - young Mina Murray, Jonathan's fiancée and also Mina's good friend, Lucy Westenra. When Lucy begins to waste away from a strange `illness', Professor Abraham Van Helsing is brought in and he suspects that vampiric forces are at work but keeps it a secret until he can prove it for certain. Meanwhile, Dracula has enlisted the help of mad Renfield, an asylum inmate. Alas, Lucy dies and is buried, but not long after, begins a new `life' as the undead, stalking young victims and Van Helsing and Arthur Holmwood [Lucy's fiancée] put an end to the terror by staking her heart. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Mina [having been married abroad]return to aid Van Helsing and company against Dracula. Poor Mina becomes his next target and it is left to Van Helsing and his assistants to get rid of the evil scourge once and for all before Mina is lost to them forever.
"Dracula" has been the inspiration for countless vampire stories and cinematic versions ever since. In this latest annotated Dracula, Leslie S Klinger has produced a comprehensive and extensively-researched work which makes use of the entire Manuscript [which until 2005 had not been available in its entirety].Klinger also takes a rather unique approach to the text , as he explains in his Preface "I employ a gentle fiction here, as I did in The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, that the events described in Dracula "really took place" and that the work presents the recollections of real persons, whom Stoker has renamed...to conceal their identities."
With this delightfully novel premise, Klinger proceeds to scrutinize all aspects of "Dracula" - providing background of the times, showing the `cover-ups', the inconsistencies, etc whilst at the same time refraining from a thorough examination of the sub-texts of the work. What impressed me most was how well-organized this work was, beginning with:
The Context of Dracula [the Victorian setting, Stoker's background, and the `people' of Dracula],
The Text of Dracula [Author's Preface, Chapters 1-27] - with copious annotations on each page [the text is `chopped' into columns with the notes to the side]
Appendix 1: "Dracula's Guest"
Appendix 2: The Dating of Dracula
Appendix 3: The Chronology of Dracula
Appendix 4: A Whitby Glossary
Part II : Considering the Count [examines fictional accounts, Dracula in academia, on stage and screen, his family tree, and friends] and finally Klinger provides a comprehensive bibliography and textual sources.
To further enhance this glorious work - besides the 1500 or so annotations , there are about 400 illustrations [B&W and full-color] of photographs, playbills, diagrams, maps, advertisements, pictures of cinematic stills etc.
Final verdict - this is a must-have for fans and scholars of Dracula and anyone who has an interest in Gothic literature and/or the Victorian era.
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