Dracula (Wordsworth Classics)

Introduction and Notes by Dr David Rogers, Kingston University.

'There he lay looking as if youth had been half-renewed, for the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey, the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin and neck. Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst the swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood; he lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion.'

Thus Bram Stoker, one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative, describes the demonic subject of his chilling masterpiece Dracula, a truly iconic and unsettling tale of vampirism.

BUY THE BOOK

352 pages

Average rating: 7.53

484 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

Megera
Apr 06, 2025
8/10 stars
I love how this book was called: “the rankings of a mad (drunk) Irishman!” - thank you, Anne Rice. Loved the depictions of vampires in his novel that hold fast to this day, even in current vampiric lore.
Beyond The Book
Mar 15, 2025
7/10 stars
My review. I enjoyed Dracula, though more for the lore behind it than the story itself. While I wouldn’t necessarily rush to read it again, I found the characters fascinating so much so that many of them could have had their own books. The novel surprised me in places, especially with how well developed some of the characters were. One of my favourite aspects was how Dracula himself was portrayed. Unlike the brute force vampire villains I’ve come to expect, he was intelligent, cunning, and manipulative. He felt more like a master strategist than just a monster, which made him a more intriguing antagonist. Honestly, I think he would make a fantastic villain in a Batman story! As for characters, Van Helsing was my favourite. He was resourceful, determined, and had such a commanding presence that I could easily see him carrying his own spin off series. On the other hand, I felt like Dracula’s three vampire brides were underdeveloped. they had potential but were more of a background threat than fully realised characters and thought it be more interesting to utilise these. The pacing was a mixed experience some parts were gripping, while others dragged. The novel did a great job building suspense, but certain sections felt overly drawn out. Still, Dracula delivers a classic gothic horror atmosphere, and its influence on the vampire genre is undeniable. Overall, I’d rate Dracula a 6.9 out of 10. It’s a book I appreciate more for what it represents than for pure enjoyment, but I’d still recommend it to fans of gothic horror or those interested in the origins of vampire lore. Overall I enjoyed it.
not_another_ana
Dec 29, 2024
8/10 stars
4.5/5 stars

I read this by subscribing to the Dracula Daily substack, which means that I got real time chronologically emails with the content corresponding to each day. I read this book all the way from May to today, November 7th. It was a great experience, I loved every bit of it. I think that with how many times the original story has been told what made it scary to the original intended audience does not hit the same to someone from the 21st century that is aware of Dracula. By adding the chronological aspect to it I felt more connected to the characters and worried for their well being so every plot point got to me.

One of the best things about reading this was realizing that all the modern versions of this book don't really do justice to its characters. I thought I knew what the story was all about so I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. We need a live action adaptation of this book that honors the source material! Having said that I won't round this up to 5 because of Stoker's insistence in writing down dialogue with accents that made my C1 English cry trying to descipher what the hell they were saying. That and Van Helsing's gigantic long winded paragraphs. Everything else slapped!
nadiasprologue
Dec 28, 2024
8/10 stars
3.5

The gothic atmosphere is perfect and it’s a great especially for fall but it could probably be like 150 pages shorter.

After Johnathan leaves Transylvania it gets a bit boring then picks back up. I definitely found myself skimming through some of the letters.
WonderlandHacker
Dec 03, 2024
Classic

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.