Dracula by Bram Stoker is the original vampire thriller. Written in 1897, it recounts the tale of a charming but evil count that has the insatiable need to suck the blood and take the life from beautiful young women. In the story, Jonathan Harker is sent to help the count arrange his affairs when relocating from his home of Transylvania to England. But what Jonathan does not realize is that he will be in the battle of his, and his love Mina’s, life.
Dracula is a mythical character and vampires in general are an extremely popular genre in today’s literature, television and movies. But what many vampire lovers may not know is just how influential Dracula is on mainstream vampirism in fiction. This novel was where many of a vampire’s idiosyncrasies come from, such as being invisible to mirrors, not eating, being a charming figure and sleeping when it is light out.
The novel is also told in an interesting way. The reader gets the firsthand account of events relayed by documents written by the characters in the novel. Most of the story is told through journal entries, but there are also letters, telegrams and newspaper items. Although this type of storytelling makes the narrators a bit unreliable, it is still an interesting way to tell a story.
It would be nice if all those interested in vampires would pick up Dracula first before any other modern interpretation because I found myself comparing the book with many of the other vampire stories I have been exposed to through books and other media, especially since this title is so easily accessible. However, it is still a dated story and may not appeal to everyone.
