Description
Published in 1897, Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the last of the nineteenth century’s three major horror stories. It followed Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but Stoker’s novel had the greater impact on our culture and our nightmares. Count Dracula has been called the king of the vampires, but, in truth, he is the king of all the monsters, and his influence can be seen everywhere today: in everything from the number-obsessed count on sesame street to the vast fandom for Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles. He is arguably the most recognized of characters, not the least of which is the iconic performance of Bella Lugosi. With Stoker’s novel serving as the backbone, this Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to the world’s most famous vampire considers all aspects of the Dracula phenomenon in often entertaining and unexpected ways—in the Bedside tradition: the book, its author, its psychological and sociological implications, the stage plays, the movies, television versions, the actors, and, of course, the historical Dracula, Vlad the Impaler.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Dracula Among Us
Bram Stoker: The Man Behind the Vampire
Dracula Rises: the 1897 publication
The Pre-History, Vampire Style: Myths and Legends Around the World
The Pre-History, Vampire Lit 101: (Polidori, Varney, Carmilla)
The Pre-History, Horror Ancestry: (Shelley, Poe, Stevenson, Le Fanu)
The Victorian Era: Influence on Stoker & his book
The Novel: Chapter by Chapter breakdown
The Characters: Harker, Mina, Van Helsing, Seward, Arthur, Lucy, Quincey Morris, Renfield, Dracula, etc.
Dracula in the Book: Hell of an entrance, then.
Dracula’s Powers
Dracula’s Weaknesses
10 Ways to Destroy a Vampire
The Thrill of the Hunt: Dracula as an adventure book
Map of 1897 London, showing locations of boxes
Metaphors and Monsters: What does Dracula represent: Then and Now?
Psychological Underpinnings: The musings of Leonard Wolf
The Blood is the Life: Examining the book’s “fluid” nature
Drop-Dead Sexy: Sex and Seduction in the story
Lugosi: Bela takes the role from Broadway to Hollywood to Immortality
The Major Films: Nosferatu (1922): Max Schreck in the first Dracula film; Dracula (1931); etc.
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Lugosi returns
Dracula Crest Ring, Chaney to Carradine to Lugosi to Lee
Dracula in the 1950s: Francis Ledererer and signs of the times in The Return of Dracula (1958) Radio-Free Dracula: Radio adaptations
Counting Up the Post-Modern Draculas
Dracula On the Record: Albums including Famous Monsters Speak! Landau as Lugosi in Ed Wood Wes Craven’s Dracula
The Dracula Crossword Puzzle (using names from the books and actors associated with the role)
From the Count on Sesame Street to Count Chocula on cereal boxes.
The Dracula Industry
Author(s)
Mark Dawidziak, Mark Dawidziak is the author of several books, including the horror novel Grave Secrets (1994) and such TV histories as The Columbo Phile (1989), The Night Stalker Companion (1997), and Horton Foote's the Shape of the River: The Lost Teleplay About Mark Twain (2003). He is based in Ohio.
Reviews
“This Companion to Dracula is very informative, entertaining and well written, providing a survey - from one individual's perspective - of the Dracula phenomenon, from the book itself and its enigmatic author to films, cartoons and merchandise…I highly recommend this book for anyone with a general interest in the subject who wants to know more.” –Elizabeth Miller, author of Reflections on Dracula, Dracula: The Shade and the Shadow, Dracula: Sense & Nonsense, Dracula, a volume on Dracula for the Dictionary of Literary Biography and, most recently, A Dracula Handbook.
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"So many books have been written about Dracula -- analytical academic tomes, pithy trivia lists, coffee table beauties -- that my shelves groan under their weight. So why would anyone need yet another one detailing Bram Stoker's life, novel, all the stage, film and television adaptations, the legacy of the Count from Aurora models to cereal boxes? In the case of Mark Dawidziak's latest, it's so you don't have to read all the rest." -Lisa Ladouceur, Rue Morgue
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"So you think you know all there is to know about Bram Stoker's Dracula? Mark Dawidziak knows more . . . If you can't get your fill on Dracula after reading this book you're already undead." - Zacherley.com
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"Corny pun ahead: If you're at all into vampire lit, you'll wanna sink your teeth into it . . . It helps when an author like Dawidziak harbors enormous enthusiasm for the subject, because it's infectious." - bookgasm.com
Rod Lott,
“The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dracula is
jam-packed with historical facts, literary references and vampire trivia.
Renowned for his expertise on horror film, literature and television, author
Mark Dawidziak engages the reader with numerous entertaining anecdotes and
little-known facts regarding Dracula’s creation and lasting influence.
Recommended for horror aficionados and fans of classic literature.” –Russell
Williams, Dark Realms Magazine
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“Books about Dracula are countless, but a new paperback The
Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dracula rises from the stack.” – Cleveland
Plain Dealer
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