About this title: Bram Stoker's classic novel of suspense and horror was a bestseller in Britain when it was published in 1897. A late 20th-century biographer of Stoker has suggested that famed Victorian actor Henry Irving, for whom Stoker worked for many years, was an inspiration for some of Count Dracula's characteristics.
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Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics
Date Published: 2003-04-01
ISBN-13:9781593080044ISBN:1593080042
Description: Very good. Very minimal damage to the cover (no holes or tears, only minimal scuff marks), in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, minimal to no highlighting/under. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics
Date Published: 2003-04-01
ISBN-13:9781593080044ISBN:1593080042
Description: Good. Minimal damage to the cover, dust jacket not necessarily included minimal wear to binding, majority of pages undamaged, minimal to no highlighting/underlining of text, no missing p. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics
Date Published: 2003-04-01
ISBN-13:9781593080044ISBN:1593080042
Description: Acceptable. Some damage to the cover but integrity still intact, binding slightly damaged but integrity still intact, possible writing in margins, possible underlining and highlighting of text. read more
Description: Near Fine. 0140052801. News old stock, unread Minimal shelfwear, slight edgewear Pages clean, crisp with slight toning Tight, no spine crease Later reissued with same ISBN as movie tie-in; 447+ pages Cover illustration by Andrew Holmes; Mass Market PB. read more
Description: Good in very good dust jacket. Hardcover former library book in good condition, clear plastic protective cover, good dust jacket, spots on some pages. read more
Edition: First Printing
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: A Signet Book, New York
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780140052800ISBN:0140052801
Description: No Illustration. Very Good. No Jacket. ILLUSTRATED PAPERBACK COVER, LIGHTLY BUMPED EDGES WITH LIGHT SHELFWEAR. INTERIOR PAGES CLEAN, BRIGHT AND TIGHT. read more
Binding: HARD BACK ORANGE
Publisher: GROSSETT, DUNLAP, NE W YORK
Date Published: 1897 REPRINT
Description: FAIR NONE in NONE jacket. 5X7.5. General shelf wear, spine is sunned and lifting with frayed edges, ex-library marking, unmarked text, good binding _PAB_ read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK.
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), NEW YORK, NY.
ISBN-13:9780140052800ISBN:0140052801
Description: NO JACKET AS PUBLISHED. 0140052801 COVER HAS LIGHT EDGE AND SHELF WEAR. 448 PAGE TEXT HAS LIGHT WEAR. HORROR. WE USE COLLECTABLE POSTAGE STAMPS ON ALL PACKAGES. read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK.
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics, NEW YORK, NY.
ISBN-13:9781593080044ISBN:1593080042
Description: NO JACKET AS PUBLISHED. 1593080042 COVER HAS LIGHT CREASING AND LIGHT SHELF WEAR. 461 PAGE TEXT HAS VERY LIGHT WEAR. CLASSIC. WE USE COLLECTABLE POSTAGE STAMPS ON ALL PACKAGES. read more
"Admire it, certainly, but I can muster up precious little affection for Stoker's famous novel, for despite its reputation as the central progenitor of an enduring mythology I can't but help but find it more as a closing off point than anything else. It discards a lot of the more fascinating elements of vampire mythology that had been developing (I'm thinking specifically of Sheridan le Fanu's Carmilla, read just before), instead establishing precedents that are comparatively dull in their clean, unambiguous delineations (undead=evil, strict heterosexuality, etc). Nina Auerbach, whose Our Vampires, Ourselves I was reading concurrently, states many of my basic objections much more eloquently than I could: "Dracula is less in love with death or sexuality than with hierarchies, erecting barriers hitherto foreign to vampire literature; the gulf between male and female, class and class, England and non-England, vampire and mortal, homoerotic and heterosexual love, infuses the genre with a new fear: fear of the hated unknown." But there were things I did like: the structure and form, with its attempt at a kind of "scientific objectivity" that instead forms a chorus of shifting, perhaps even unreliable narrators; also, in retrospect, I've become more and more impressed with the character of Mina, who kind of inadvertently becomes this kind of omnipotent, mystical fusion of domestic goddess and "the modern woman" by the end of the novel (what couldn't she do? Unexpected talents and skills unveiled with each new plot development!).
An important text, without a doubt, but also, if I'm honest, disappointing.
"You do not let your eyes see or your ears hear, and that which is outside your daily life is not of account to you. Do you not think there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see thing that others cannont?""
"Okay, up front I will admit that most of this book I did not "read", but listened to in audio version (hey, what else do I have to do on buses that are too crowded for me to move my arms?). By reputation I wasn't expecting much, but wanted to get to the bedrock of the vampire fiction genre.
It's a gripping story, well told. Not great literature, but really good story-telling. The standard interpretation of the book (vampire as a metaphor for sexuality) seems right to me, but part of the appeal of this book to me is that it seems that there is an unreal-ness to the facts as perceived by the protagonists. It seems to me that you can read this book with considerable skepticism about whether or not the Count is really a supernatural being. What if he is just an especially creepy sort of criminal and murderer? Is the "vampire" really a collective delusion brought on by social mores, the highly formalized requirements of propriety between men and women in Victorian England, and the influence of Van Helsing's superstitions?
If that were the case, then the book is terrifying beyond the simple terror of the Count on the loose. If the Count is not really a vampire, then the protagonists commit atrocities and murder in the name of protecting their Victorian morality."
"I decided to read Dracula inspired by the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and with the hope that it wouldn't be boring or irrelevant. Luckily, it turned out to be a compelling read, with a solid story and some likable characters (who double as narrators). Dracula also sets in stone much of what we still see in novels, movies, and tv today regarding the vampire myth. And though some things about the novel definitely belonged to another era, it didn't hinder the experience. In fact is was a bit of an escape to read a story where the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, and there's basically no irony or sarcasm to be found.
I also enjoyed comparing the character of Mina here to her portrayal in the League stories. While her personality is constant -- intelligence, strength, and superhuman powers of organization -- the League books do take some liberties with the original narrative to give the character a more modern edge. Both make for good, though very different, stories."
"I love the way that the story is presented. It consists of journal entries from various characters, so no one but the reader has the full story. I'm not one for murder mysteries or horror novels, but I loved this book! It's a tale that keeps the mind going, while sending chills down your spine."
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