Dracul (novel)

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Dracula
Stoker & Barker - Dracul Coverart.jpeg
First edition cover
Author Dacre Stoker, J. D. Barker
LanguageEnglish
Genre Horror novel
Publisher G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date
October 2, 2018
Publication placeUnited States
Media type
  • Print
  • Digital
Pages512 pp
ISBN 9780735219342
813/.6
LC Class PS3619.T645 D7 2019

Dracul is a 2018 prequel novel to Bram Stoker's classic 1897 work Dracula . The book was written by Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew Dacre Stoker and American author J. D. Barker. It is Stoker's second novel, after his 2009 Dracula sequel, Dracula the Un-dead .

Contents

In its preparation, Stoker and Barker referenced Bram Stoker's notes for Dracula, its manuscript, its Icelandic variant Makt Myrkranna , and the short story Dracula's Guest , while Stoker also visited the locations mentioned in the books and in Bram Stoker's diary. [1] Dracul makes use of the unpublished first 100 pages of Dracula's manuscript. [2] Primarily set in 1868, the novel places a 21-year-old Bram Stoker as its central character, as he journals the sequence of events that lead him to facing off with The Count, including Stoker's childhood. [3]

Synopsis

From within Whitby Abbey, Bram writes in his diary about his childhood days, largely spent bedridden in Dublin, with his siblings, Matilda and Thornley, and nanny, Ellen Crone. The Stoker children become suspicious of Ellen following a series of deaths in nearby towns. After Bram is miraculously healed from his ailments, she suddenly disappears into a bog without a trace. Matilda later departs for Paris to study, and returns after some years to report that she has once again seen Ellen, albeit unaged. They set off to investigate Ellen, eventually revealing her connection to Dracula.

Reception

In contrast to the mixed reaction to Stoker's previous work, the Dracula sequel Dracula the Un-dead, the critical response to Dracul has been positive. [4] Kirkus Reviews wrote that it "will no doubt be a hit among monster-movie and horror lit fans—and for good reason", noting that it is "a lively if unlovely story, in which the once febrile Bram becomes a sort of Indiana Jones". [5]

For the Financial Times , Zoë Apostolides writes that the "interpretation of the Stokers' lives represents a thrilling new exploration of the novel's creation and its creator", and that "this addition to the canon is a brilliantly entertaining read". [6]

Angie Barry, writing a mixed review for Criminal Element, says "Dracul doesn’t tread much new ground. But its biographical framing and focus on Ellen Crone makes it a compelling, entertaining read nonetheless". [7]

Film

In September 2017, prior to Dracul's publication, [2] Paramount purchased the movie rights to the book. Director Andy Muschietti and It producers Barbara Muschietti and Roy Lee were announced to be attached to the film. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bram Stoker</span> Irish novelist and short story writer (1847–1912)

Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish author who is best known for writing the 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager of the West End's Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned.

<i>Dracula</i> 1897 novel by Bram Stoker

Dracula is a gothic horror novel by Bram Stoker, published on 26 May 1897. An epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. Harker escapes the castle after discovering that Dracula is a vampire, and the Count moves to England and plagues the seaside town of Whitby. A small group, led by Abraham Van Helsing, investigate, hunt and kill Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Newman</span> English writer and novelist (born 1959)

Kim James Newman is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternative history. He has won the Bram Stoker Award, the International Horror Guild Award and the BSFA award.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (1992 film) Film directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a 1992 American gothic horror film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The film stars Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, and Tom Waits. Set in 19th-century England and Romania, it follows the titular vampire (Oldman), who falls in love with Mina Murray (Ryder), the fiancée of his solicitor Jonathan Harker (Reeves). When Dracula begins terrorizing Mina's friends, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Hopkins), an expert in vampirism, is summoned to bring an end to his reign of terror. Its closing credits theme "Love Song for a Vampire", is written and performed by Annie Lennox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Van Helsing</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "MD, D.Ph., D.Litt., etc.", indicating a wealth of experience, education and expertise. He is a doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist, and metaphysician. The character is best known through many adaptations of the story as a vampire slayer, monster hunter and the arch-nemesis of Count Dracula, and the prototypical and the archetypal parapsychologist in subsequent works of paranormal fiction. Some later works tell new stories about Van Helsing, while others, such as Dracula (2020) and I Woke Up a Vampire (2023) have characters that are his descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mina Harker</span> Fictional character

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (video game) 1993 video game

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a 1993 video game released for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Game Boy, Master System, Sega CD, Game Gear, MS-DOS, and Amiga. It is based on the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula which in turn is based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Most versions are platform games. The Sega CD and Amiga releases are beat 'em ups, and the MS-DOS version is a first-person shooter. The Amiga version was released in 1994 for North America and Europe. A CD-ROM version for MS-DOS compatible operating systems was released in 1995.

Dracul may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula</span> Title character of Bram Stokers 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula

Count Dracula is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been inspired by the 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as Vlad Dracula, and by Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker was a personal assistant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula in popular culture</span>

The character of Count Dracula from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, has remained popular over the years, and many forms of media have adopted the character in various forms. In their book Dracula in Visual Media, authors John Edgar Browning and Caroline Joan S. Picart declared that no other horror character or vampire has been emulated more times than Count Dracula. Most variations of Dracula across film, comics, television and documentaries predominantly explore the character of Dracula as he was first portrayed in film, with only a few adapting Stoker's original narrative more closely. These including borrowing the look of Count Dracula in both the Universal's series of Dracula and Hammer's series of Dracula, including the character's clothing, mannerisms, physical features, hair style and his motivations such as wanting to be in a home away from Europe.

<i>Dracula: Resurrection</i> 1999 video game

Dracula: Resurrection is a 1999 graphic adventure video game developed by Index+. Set in 1904 Transylvania, the game serves as a follow-up to Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Seven years after the death of Count Dracula, Jonathan Harker's wife Mina finds herself mysteriously drawn back to Transylvania. Jonathan subsequently travels to Borgo Pass in an effort to rescue her. The player assumes the role of Jonathan and uses a point-and-click interface to solve puzzles and navigate the game's world, often with the help of an object called the Dragon Ring.

Elizabeth Russell Miller was a Professor Emerita at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She resided in Toronto. In her early academic career, she focused on Newfoundland literature, primarily the life and work of her father, well-known Newfoundland author and humorist Ted Russell. Beginning in 1990, her major field of research was Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, its author, sources and influence. She published several books on the subject, including Reflections on Dracula, Dracula: Sense & Nonsense, a volume on Dracula for the Dictionary of Literary Biography and, most recently, Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula: A Facsimile Edition with Robert Eighteen-Bisang. She founded the Dracula Research Centre and was the founding editor of the Journal of Dracula Studies now at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

<i>Dracula the Un-dead</i> 2009 novel by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt

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Joshua "Josh" Viola is a science fiction/fantasy/horror writer, artist and film producer best known for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - The Dead Shall Rise, True Believers, Denver Moon, The Bane of Yoto and his companies Hex Publishers and Bit Bot Media. He is a 2021 Splatterpunk Award nominee and a 2022 Colorado Book Awards winner.

<i>Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy</i> 2013 video game

Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy is a 2013 point-and-click adventure video game developed by Koalabs Studio for Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android and OS X. It was published on all systems by Anuman under their Microïds brand. In 2014, the game was released on GOG.com and Steam, bundled with its prequel, Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. D. Barker</span> American author (born 1971)

Jonathan Dylan Barker is a New York Times and international bestselling American author of suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural. His debut novel, Forsaken, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker Award in 2014.

<i>Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula</i> 1978 novel by Loren D. Estleman

Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula or The Adventures of the Sanguinary Count) is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Loren D. Estleman, originally published in 1978.

<i>Powers of Darkness</i> Swedish Dracula variant serialized in 1899–1900

Powers of Darkness is an anonymous 1899 Swedish version of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, serialised in the newspaper Dagen and credited only to Bram Stoker and the still-unidentified "A—e."

Dracula: A Love Tale is an upcoming gothic horror film written and directed by Luc Besson, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It stars Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz.

References

  1. Stoker, Dacre; Barker, J.D. "Dracul Book Club Kit" (PDF). Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Putnam Acquires Dacre Stoker's DRACUL Novel as Screen Rights Sold to Paramount". Penguin Random House . September 8, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  3. Stoker, Dacre. "Dacre Stoker – Dracul" . Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  4. "Book Marks reviews of Dracul". Books Marks. Literary Hub . Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  5. "DRACUL". Kirkus Reviews . October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  6. Apostolides, Zoë (October 1, 2018). "Dracul by Dacre Stoker and JD Barker — encounter culture". Financial Times . Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  7. Barry, Angie (October 1, 2018). "Review: Dracul by Dacre Stoker & J. D. Barker". Criminal Element. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  8. Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 5, 2017). "Paramount Bites Into 'Dracul': 'It' Director Andy Muschietti In Mix". Deadline. Retrieved January 21, 2022.