Dracula
Bram Stoker (1847-1912)
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Genres
Summary
Dracula tells the tale of a sinister Transylvanian aristocrat who seeks to retain his youth and strength by feeding off human blood. The author, Bram Stoker, a young Victorian theater professional, was probably inspired by the strange epidemic of vampirism that occurred in remote parts of Eastern Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. These stories were recounted by travelers who later arrived in England and other parts of Western Europe. Stoker initially meant the tale to be written as a play in which he wanted Sir Henry Irving, a leading Victorian actor, to play the role of the malevolent Count Dracula. However, as circumstances would have it, Irving never played the part and Stoker's story finally took the form of a novel. The book, published in 1897, is constructed in a very interesting format. The story is told via a set of letters, diary entries, ship's logs and newspaper reports. It begins with the journey of a young lawyer, Jonathan Harker, who is traveling to Transylvania on his legal firm's business, to finalize the transfer of a property in England to an East European aristocrat, Count Dracula. Harker is initially charmed by the suave and debonair count's hospitality, but gradually comes to realize Dracula's malevolent intentions. The plot takes up the tale of various other people in the story – Harker's fiancée Mina, her friend Lucy, a former suitor Dr Seward and his teacher, Professor Van Helsing. A host of other characters adds to the twists and turns in the narrative. Dracula represents the dawn of Gothic horror fiction in the contemporary era and its earliest reviews called it “blood-curdling” though it didn't receive much commercial success. However, it really caught the public imagination with its American publication in 1899, and in the 20th century, when film and television versions began to appear. Today, Dracula-theme tours are one of the hottest attractions in countries like Romania in Eastern Europe and studies have uncovered the historical figures who actually existed behind the fictional character of the evil count. A great read for a dark and gloomy night. Just make sure your windows are tightly shut!
Reviews
yashaswini
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Yup that's interesting....but some unique features must be there...spooky must be shown in our eyes
yashaswini
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Yup that's interesting....but some unique features must be there...spooky must be shown in our eyes
Nichole
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The story was well read. However, I felt Van Helsing needs to be re-recorded. It felt like he was reading it for the first time.
Bookworm
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Great story...tried to follow it in the book...one of the female readers often sounded as though she was talking in a muffled way making it difficult to follow. Otherwise well read by others.
Darla
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Also “Jonathan Harker” sounds like he has a Frog in his throat. Just saying.
Darla
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Absolutely loved this book, loved all the voices except for Dr Seward’s voice, goodness me it drove me half insane. it wasn’t the actors fault, it was just ill-matched. The casting was not perfect.
Kyle G.
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It took me several attempts to give this a listen, but this is a fairly good or an almost great reading of Dracula. Unfortunately, it begins with the worst reader as Jonathan Harker, who I can only assume is unfamiliar with human speech. A very unnatural cadence and terrible with accents.The other readers are quite good and give a real depth to their characters, and make pushing through the Jon Harker chapters worth it. The accents for Dr. Seward and Van Helsing aren't always great, but they do an excellent job of conveying themselves. Nina Harker's reader easily performs the best with great accents, clear pronunciation and seems to never have an issue in her chapters. I particularly enjoyed her reading as Nina quoting other characters.
sylkz
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This is such a great story and the reading of 'Dr Seward' is absolutely awful, it ruins the experience for the listener. I tried to persist and deal with it but it's like dragging nails across a blackboard. This book needs to be re-read again.
Renate
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I've always loved the story and I was pleasantly surprised by the audiobook. All narrators did an awesome job. The only small critique I have is that Jonathan Harker's voice sounded much louder than the others, which meant I had to turn the volume down every time he was reading. (but that's okay) Thank you for this audiobook!
Mike
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Great story beautifully read, especially Mena Harker. I initially had trouble with Dr Seward's voice but its worth persevering - his style grew on me & towards the climax of the book his reading really injects genuine suspense. Well worth a listen :)
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