Dracula in London [Paperback]

P. N. Elrod (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2004

How did Dracula occupy his time in London when he wasn't stalking Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker? Today's top authors take the infamous nosferatu on a tour of 1890s London--in sixteen wonderfully inventive stories.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dracula lives! but more in name than spirit in 16 new period riffs on his legend. Going back to Bram Stoker's original novel, Elrod (Time of the Vampires) asked contributors to this anthology, "What ELSE was Dracula doing in London when he was not being chased by Van Helsing and company?" Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, in "Long-Term Investment," and Fred Saberhagen, in "Box Number Fifty," both have him duping ignorant human associates into elaborate schemes to conceal his coffins. Tanya Huff suggests he was drawn to social climbers and other predatory personalities in "To Each His Own Kind." In one of the book's most intriguing entries, Judith Proctor's "Dear Mr. Bernard Shaw," he is a theater patron who cannot understand how the deaths at the end of King Lear ennoble human suffering. Inevitably, Dracula rubs shoulders with a variety of Victorian-era celebrities, including Gilbert and Sullivan, Doctor Watson, Prince Edward, actress Ellen Terry and even a young Aleister Crowley. Inventive though they often are, few of these stories capture the subtle malignancy and terrifying misanthropy that has made Stoker's creation an indelible horror icon. Excepting Gene DeWeese's "An Essay on Containment" and Gary A. Braunbeck's "Curtain Call," which attempt to be more than mere outtakes from Stoker's tale, the majority are modern revisionist interpretations of Dracula as lover, dreamer, swashbuckler and bungler. For better or worse, they bear out the editor's professed fondness for any Dracula variation, "good and bad, sublime and silly."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This collection of 16 stories elaborates on the "life" and times of the world's most famous literary vampire. In Tanya Huff's "To Each His Own Kind," Dracula encounters the Prince of Wales, while Gary Braunbeck's macabre story, "Curtain Call," examines existence and the theater starring Bram Stoker and Charles Fort. Other contributors include veteran sf and fantasy authors such as Fred Saberhagen, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Nancy Kilpatrick, as well as first-timer Bill Zaget. This strong anthology should appeal to the large audience for vampire fiction and belongs in most fantasy or horror collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ace (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441012132
• ISBN-13: 978-0441012138
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #709,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A FEW GEMS, January 8, 2002

By 

mike coll (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dracula in London (Mass Market Paperback)

The 16 stories in "Dracula in London" are of varying interest. Some, like editor Pat Elrod's & Nigel Bennett's "Wolf & Hound" are absorbing and entertaining. Other entries that combine effective story-telling and intelligence are Jody Lynn Nye's "Everything to Order", Fred Saberhagen's "Box Number Fifty",and Judith Proctor's "Dear Mr. Bernard Shaw". Nancy Kilpatrick's "Berserker" and Gary A. Braunbeck's "Curtain Call" are especially intelligent and well-executed. Still, others are less successful--somewhat bland and forgetable. The nadir is K.B. Bogen's "Good Help", an awkward and eye-rolling attempt at humor that is wholly unfunny. In contrast, Bradley H. Sinor's "Places for Act Two" is genuinely amusing and involving. Of special note is the final story in the book--Bill Zaget's "Renfield or, Dining at the Bughouse". This is a bizarre contribution that doesn't quite fit into the premise of the anthology. There is no real sense of time or place. There is no "tour of 1890s London" (quoting the anthology's blurb). And Dracula doesn't actually appear in the story! Instead, we find ourselves neck-deep in an intensely personal and poetic rendition of one man's traumatic history--sometimes described from the point-of-view of the insects he has eaten! (How warped is that?!) Surprizingly, this is the author's 1st published story, and it's a knock-out. His passion for language is stunning--and challenging. One can't be lazy; the reader needs to focus to get through it, so different is it from all the stories that precede it. It is unique in this collection for expressing **emotional depth** and I found it extremely moving. We accompany Renfield on a journey of self-discovery. It's a journey well worth taking, and it makes up for some of the book's weaker contributions. Buy it if only for this story.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great vampire anthology, November 6, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dracula in London (Mass Market Paperback)

Just about everyone knows about the events that have taken place in Bram Stroker's Dracula. However, while he lived in Victorian England Dracula became involved with other people and events that the author chose to ignore. Mr. Stroker left it to some of the most famous writers of horror tales to complete the full picture by contributing fantastic stories to this anthology.

Writers like Fred Saberhagen, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Nancy Kirkpatrick provide tales that show what the Transylvanian Count was doing in London. Tanya Huff focuses on Dracula's fascination on meeting the Prince of Wales. Nigel Bennett and PN Elrod have a Russian purposely travel to England to confront the prince of vampires. Elaine Bergstrom writes about a suffragette who needs Dracula's help.

The entire collection is excellent as no one fails to hold up his or her weight. Mr. Stroker would have appreciated this anthology.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Vampire Short Story Collection, June 19, 2009

By 

Ty Falco (Fort Wayne, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dracula in London (Mass Market Paperback)

Most short story collections have a few gems, several average, and a lot of below average stories in them. This collection is mostly all gems. The stories really capture the theme of Dracula in London. My favorite is Box Number Fifty by Fred Saberhagen. There is also a rare second-person short story called Berserker by Nancy Kilpatrick. If you enjoy vampire fiction this is a great book for your collection.