Dracula

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Dracula Author: Bram Stoker (1847-1912), a fan and friend of the playwright Henry Irving, he wrote dramatic criticism and glowing reviews of Irving's work for the local papers and finally became business manager of Henry Irving's Lyceum Theatre. During these years he wrote his greatest novel, Dracula. Stoker wrote numerous novels, short stories, essays, and lectures, but Dracula is by far his most famous work and perhaps the most well known horror novel. Summery: Jonathan Harker, a young English solicitor, is sent to the Eastern European country of Transylvania to conclude a real estate transaction with Count Dracula. But he ends up finding out that the count is actually a vampire and flees. As Dracula the vampire successfully reach London, he transforms Lucy, a friend of Harker¡¯s fianc¨¦e Mina, into a vampire whom her fianc¨¦ finally has to destroy with the help of a knowledgeable professor Van Helsing. The men decide to hunt down the vampire as Harker joins them. Unfortunately, Mina is attacked and begins to change into a vampire slowly as they succefully track down the boxes the count uses as sanctuary at night. They sterilize the boxes, forcing the count back to Transylvania. They separate and track the count across land and sea. Finally they kill the female vampires in the castle and slay the count just before he reaches his castle thus Mina is saved. Comments: It is said that this book is considered as one of the most famous horror novels, if not the most famous one. The Gothic descriptions in the novel are very prominent at the beginning. The portrayal of the countryside of Transylvania, of the ruined Dracula Castle, etc, all provide the effect of horror in the sense of spooky and gloomy atmosphere, which you can obtain close at hand. Everything is so obvious. The originally beautiful scenes are changed by the writer¡¯s magnification of some specific details which provide certain effect on the readers. All of the above reminds how one¡¯s personal feelings can alter their attitudes towards what they see or what they experience. Sometimes when you are sad, everything look so depressing. It is like the whole world is against you. The sunset could be a fantastic scene when you are filled with joy but an extra source of sorrow when you are not in the mood. Harker is separated from her lovely fianc¨¦e to meet some foreign count in the exotic and unknown eastern world.

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