Customer Reviews

Bram Stoker's The Lady of the Shroud

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`The Lady of the Shroud,' written in 1909 by the author of `Dracula' has been an obscure title, and will remain so forever. The book opens with a stunning sequence with a mysterious lady in a small coffin floating off the coast of the Blue Mountain, fictional country in Balkan Peninsula. Clearly Bram Stoker wrote this surprise opening, part imitating Wilkie Collins's style. (`The Lady of the Shroud' is written in the style of assorted documents like `The Woman in White' and of course, `Dracula.')

However, the intriguing opening soon drifts into very lengthy and boring sequences about the reading of a will, which changes the life of young intrepid Rupert Sent Leger. Rupert inherits enormous amount of money on condition that he help the people of the Blue Mountain and the Balkan acquire the independence from the threatening power surrounding them.

[NOT EXACTLY A GOTHIC NOVEL] But how does the titular `Lady of the Shroud' fit in the story? The scanty Gothic elements are provided by the enigmatic woman who knocks on the window of the Castle of Vissarion in the middle of the night. The beautiful lady in white shroud, soaked to the skin, asks Rupert to allow her to stay in his room, and warm herself. Rupert, suspecting that she might be a vampire, lets her in, and finds himself attracted to the majestic beauty of the lady. But who is she?

The truths about the lady are far from convincing, even far less interesting than the three female vampires in the Castle Dracula. For all the inclusion of such items as deserted church, `second sight' of Rupert's aunt, and very ritualistic midnight marriage, you will be disappointed if you are looking for any occult element in this book. What little Gothic factor in the first part of the book is dispersed in the second half, in which you read, most incredibly, about battleships and aeroplanes. In spite of the unique topics used here, Bram Stoker never succeeds in incorporating these high-tech items into the story, and his bland prose is not imaginative enough to successfully envision the new world of the Balkan nation.

To be honest, I found most part of the book very boring. Stoker throws several interesting things into the book's story, but he doesn't seem to understand that reading about ten or more pages of the minutest (and dull) accounts of the fictional country's coronation ceremony can be hardly attractive. You just cannot do that if you started a book with the `Lady' in the floating coffin. I know it is cruel to say this, but if the book has a merit, it might be that it shows how Stoker failed to realize and re-create the successful formula that worked in `Dracula' written about ten years before.

If I had to fault this book on anything it's that it starts out pretty slow. I wasnt even sure who the main charater was the first 20 or so pages (Or because I was not that familiar with Stokers epistolory style of writing). Once the "Lady of the Shroud" shows up the book grips you and doesn't let go.I found myself sucked in even tho I usually am not a major fan of this writing style. Stoker paints very vivid pictures in your mind. Sometimes these images can be realistic and others almost supernatural. The book contantly switches or mixes the two to the point you wonder how the book is going to end. This book isn't perfect like I said you have to get throught the slow begining before it picks up. It is however worth it. I can see now why some people groups this book with Science Fiction at times. Stokers love for progress is very evident in this book (Some of the equipement uses in the book is a bit fantasical for the time), but never seems out of place in Stokers gothic writing. Despite my first impressions I grew to really love this book.

I'm not going to waste a lot of space here as the previous reviewer did an admirable job of summarizing. This story starts out as "Dracula", turns into "A Princess of Mars" (although, not as well written), and then just fizzles and dies. Frankly, it would have been more satisfying if the author had ended it sooner. I almost get the impression that the original publisher refused to touch this unless Stoker went back and added the whole Dracula-ish part.

The story opens with a woman in white, a shroud, in a coffin on the water. A fairly odd sort of a both, that one. A bit of a gothic type of story, here.

This is one of those tales where the odd woman that might be a vampire turns up at your doorway trying out for a full length wet t-shirt contest. However, she only wants help, as she and others have been in an accident.

The protagonist does have a psychic aunt though, for some reason.