Dracula (Townsend Library Edition)

by Bram Stoker

Book Overview

The punctured throat, the coffin lid slowly opening, the unholy shriek as the stake pierces the heart?these are just a few of the chilling images Bram Stoker unleashed upon the world with his 1897 masterpiece, Dracula. Inspired by the folk legend of nosferatu, the undead, Stoker created a timeless tale of gothic horror and romance that has enthralled and terrified readers ever since. A true masterwork of storytelling, Dracula has transcended generation,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591940036
• ISBN13: 9781591940036
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Townsend Press
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Different editions

I have already bought this book but i wanted the edition that was shown on the display. as a book collector this is highly disappointing. now i have 2 copys of the same edition.

beautiful book, just as stunning condition.

The book I received is hardcover and has no illustrations as a cover. This wasn’t what i expected, but for me, it adds to the character. Great condition, definitely recommend!

Happy with product, enjoying story so far

After purchasing Norton Critical Editions of Dracula and a few other books, I've discovered that the exact cover (old style vs updated style) may not be as pictured in product listing, but that cover image and also the edition number are always accurate. I was pleased with the condition of my book and with the version I got. The footnotes are very helpful, and I look forward to the extra scholarly materials at the end.

Stunning book

I’m so excited to read this, though I’m desperately trying to wait until October season. There’s some bad reviews on quality, which made me nervous. I spent extra to get the stunning clothbound edition and it didn’t disappoint! It’s an absolutely gorgeous book and is brand new. I love the cover and I’m very happy I spent the extra to get the cloth edition.

No Cover

I bought this book to go with my collection and there was no cover with it. I would have never purshased this copy if I had known. The picture showed a cover.

Long, overly detailed, and with a deeply unsatisfying ending, I can’t recommend it

School reading with a classic concept but disappointments throughout

Disappointed

I mainly bought this because I wanted the cover that was pictured and I got a complete different edition. I’m a book collector and it’s just upsetting. I read the edition in the picture when I was younger so the nostalgia was important.

Refreshing twist on Dracula

I have read Dracula many times, so my old edition took some damage. I replaced it with this and was very satisfied. The classic story is augmented with Jae Lee's fantastic illustrations for an great overall package.

Boy! They were prolific journalers and diarists!

This book will make you throw rocks at ALL the 'Dracula' movies you have seen or had wanted to see. The words, the epistolary format, the story, the darkness, the horror, the sensuality are all there for you if you dare. I loved this book and recommend it. My Top 10 seems to be crowded and always changing but this book could be a candidate.

The vampire novel!

Actually Dracula does not need a lot of explanation. Everybody must have experienced at least once the myth of Count Dracula in any form: film, television or book. No character has ever ignited so much imagination than the Chief Vampire of Transylvania. It is absolutely no surprise that this book is still read by thousands of people worldwide.The narrative unfolds itself by combining letters, newspaper clippings, journal entries and even phonograph records. This certainly adds to the mysterious atmosphere that dominates the first half of the book, but turns a bit against the story when the action really starts. Simply by reading a letter written by Miss Mina Murray, you are already informed that Mina will survive the struggle described by her. Technically this method also puts extra constraints on the author. Knowing this, it is fun to see how many tricks Stoker needed to keep the flow of letters going. At one point in the story he has to send Doctor Van Helsing back home, just so he can respond with a letter. Of course, it would have been quite silly to have two people writing each other letters while they are living in the same house. The story itself is very powerful, but to modern readers it is often perceived as being dense and overcrowded with details. This is typical to Victorian novels, in which the women are always tender and caring and the men brave and intelligent. It seems that these conclusions have to be underlined on every page of the book. Still Bram Stoker succeeds in winning the attention of the reader by supplying an unprecedented richness to the story. The plot is filled with unexpected twists, remarkable action sequences and rather eerie -sometimes almost erotic- confrontations with evil entities. No situation is left unused to heighten the mystery. Even for the spoiled modern reader, some lugubrious scenes can still be experienced as hair-raising; a treat that most modern novels can't claim so easily.Keeping in mind that this is a typical Victorian extravaganza and that the story suffers a bit under its form, one can but only admit that Dracula must be `the' classic vampire novel. Although there is a lot of `derived' work on the market, no one can truly claim to know the legend of Dracula without having read Bram Stoker's novel.

An Open Door For The Curious Mind

This is far and away the best edition of the original novel you could read. In addition all it's footnotes and explanations provide a trail for any curious reader to explore for just about any particular aspect of the novel. From legends of Vampires, historical facts of Vlad Dracul III, all the way to obscure but curious details of the lendary Scholomance School Of Magic taught by the Devil himself!