The New Annotated Dracula (Hardcover)

by Bram Stoker (Author), Leslie S. Klinger (Editor, Contributor), Neil Gaiman (Introduction), Janet Byrne (Contributor)
Key Phrases: abridged text, text accompanying chapter, bloofer lady, Van Helsing, Dracula Unearthed, The Essential Dracula (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Klinger brings the same impressive breadth of knowledge that distinguished The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes to this definitive examination of one of the classic horror novels of all time. Adopting the conceit that Stoker's narrative is based on fact, Klinger elucidates the plot and historical context for both Stoker devotees and those more familiar with Count Dracula from countless popular culture versions. Because he had privileged access to the typescript Stoker delivered to his publisher, Klinger is able to note changes between it and the first edition and comment on the reasons for them. Through close reading, Klinger raises questions about such matters as the role of lead vampire-hunter Van Helsing and whether the villainous count is actually dispatched at book's end. An introduction by Neil Gaiman, numerous illustrations, essays on topics ranging from Dracula in the movies to the academic response, and much more enhance the package. 8-city author tour. (Oct.)
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Review

Leslie S. Klinger’s great virtue as an editor is his sublimely willful and scrupulous disregard for the boundary between historical fact and literary falsehood. In The New Annotated Dracula, he reprises the same earlier annotated Sherlock Holmes, treating Stoker’s novel as nonfiction: real events happening to real persons. After a brief preface in which he explains his trick, Klinger’s edition becomes a surreal treat, book’s succession of journal entries and letters.

This is a book every serious reader of the horror genre should have on his or her shelf. You will read Dracula with new eyes. Fascinating! —Stephen King

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (October 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393064506
• ISBN-13: 978-0393064506
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,190 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the dead travel fast, October 9, 2008

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Dracula" was not the first vampire novel, nor was it Bram Stoker's first book.

But after years of research, Stoker managed to craft the ultimate vampire novel, which has spawned countless movies, spinoffs, and books that follow the blueprint of the Transylvanian count. Eerie, horrifying and genuinely mysterious, this is a book that was crying out for the kind of loving annotation that "The New Annotated Dracula" graces it with.

First we have an eloquent introduction by dark fantasy master Neil Gaiman, which serves as the gateway to a longer, densely informative foreword by Leslie S. Klinger. Klinger does some pretty extensive exploration of the origins of vampire literature, the impact of the Dracula character, and his presence in mass media ever since Stoker whipped together this book. It's a nice, meaty intro to the story:

And on to that story: Real estate agent Jonathan Harker arrives in Transylvania, to arrange a London house sale to Count Dracula. But as the days go by, Harker witnesses increasingly horrific events, leading him to believe that Dracula is not actually human. His fiancee Mina arrives in Transylvania, and finds that he has been feverish. Meanwhile the count has vanished -- along with countless boxes filled with dirt.

And soon afterwards, strange things happen: a ship piloted by a dead man crashes on the shore, after a mysterious thing killed the crew. A lunatic talks about "Him" coming. And Mina's pal Lucy dies of mysterious blood loss, only to come back as an undead seductress. Dracula has arrived in England -- then the center of the Western world -- and intends to make it his own...

The entire text is reworked into columns, with EXTENSIVE footnoting off to each side -- Klinger loads the text down with literary interpretations, historical explanations, places, attitudes of the time, clarification (the old woman who gave Harker the rosary, says Klinger, was probably a Hungarian immigrant) and even a bit of nitpicking. At times it gets a bit long-winded, but for sheer volume of explanatory information those footnotes can't be beat. It's a big thick chunk of a book though, so not advises for casual walking-around reading.

"Dracula" is the grandaddy of Lestat and other elegantly alluring bloodsuckers, but that isn't the sole reason why this novel is a classic. It's also incredibly atmospheric, and very well-written. Not only is it very freaky, in an ornate Victorian style, but it is also full of restrained, quiet horror and creepy eroticism. What's more, it's shaped the portrayal of vampires in movies and books, even to this day.

Despite already knowing what's going on for the first half of the book, it's actually kind of creepy to see these people whose lives are being disrupted by Dracula, but don't know about vampires. It's a bit tempting to yell "It's a vampire, you idiots!" every now and then, but you can't really blame them. Then the second half kicks in, with accented professor Van Helsing taking our heroes on a quest to save Mina from Dracula.

And along the way, while our heroes try to figure stuff out, Stoker spins up all these creepy hints of Dracula's arrival. Though he wrote in the late 19th-century manner, very verbose and a bit stuffy, his skill shines through. The book is crammed with intense, evocative language, with moments like Dracula creeping down a wall, or the dead captain found tied to the wheel. Once read, they stick in your mind throughout the book.

It's also a credit to Stoker that he keeps his characters from seeming like idiots or freaks, which they could have easily seemed like. Instead, he puts little moments of humanity in them, like Van Helsing admitting that his wife is in an asylum. Even the letters and diaries are written in different styles; for example, Seward's is restrained and analytical, while Mina's is exuberant and bright.

Even Dracula himself is an overpowering presence despite his small amount of actual screen time, and not just as a vampire -- Stoker presents him as passionate, intense, malignant, and probably the smartest person in the entire book. If Van Helsing hadn't thwarted him, he probably would have taken over the world -- not the Victorian audience's ideal ending.

Intelligent, frightening and very well-written, "Dracula" is the well-deserved godfather of all modern vampire books and movies -- and "The New Annotated Dracula" is a worthy exploration of that book.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "We want no proofs; we ask none to believe us!", October 26, 2008

By	z hayes (plano,texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Leslie S Klinger is a renowned scholar-author who has also produced brilliant works such as The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes [Vols I, II and III] and this New Annotated Dracula is the most recent annotated work on the famous 1897 Gothic horror novel penned by Bram Stoker. The other annotated Dracula works that are well-known are by renowned Dracula scholar Leonard Wolf[ 1975 & 1993 versions], and also the 1979 "The Essential Dracula" by Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu.

Plot summary: The story of Dracula the vampire is told through a series of journal entries and letters `voiced' by several narrators/protagonists. This classic tale of terror begins with young Jonathan Harker, an Englishman who travels to the Carpathian region to provide legal advice to the mysterious Count Dracula who is in the midst of settling a real-estate transaction located in England. Harker is at first charmed by Dracula, but this soon turns to revulsion and horror when he becomes acquainted with Dracula's nocturnal activities, and barely survives an encounter with Dracula's brides. Soon after, the Demeter, a Russian ship is found on the shores of Whitby, in England with its crew missing [only the Captain's body is found]. Dracula has found his way to England and starts moving in on his prey - young Mina Murray, Jonathan's fiancée and also Mina's good friend, Lucy Westenra. When Lucy begins to waste away from a strange `illness', Professor Abraham Van Helsing is brought in and he suspects that vampiric forces are at work but keeps it a secret until he can prove it for certain. Meanwhile, Dracula has enlisted the help of mad Renfield, an asylum inmate. Alas, Lucy dies and is buried, but not long after, begins a new `life' as the undead, stalking young victims and Van Helsing and Arthur Holmwood [Lucy's fiancée] put an end to the terror by staking her heart. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Mina [having been married abroad]return to aid Van Helsing and company against Dracula. Poor Mina becomes his next target and it is left to Van Helsing and his assistants to get rid of the evil scourge once and for all before Mina is lost to them forever.

"Dracula" has been the inspiration for countless vampire stories and cinematic versions ever since. In this latest annotated Dracula, Leslie S Klinger has produced a comprehensive and extensively-researched work which makes use of the entire Manuscript [which until 2005 had not been available in its entirety].Klinger also takes a rather unique approach to the text , as he explains in his Preface "I employ a gentle fiction here, as I did in The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, that the events described in Dracula "really took place" and that the work presents the recollections of real persons, whom Stoker has renamed...to conceal their identities."

With this delightfully novel premise, Klinger proceeds to scrutinize all aspects of "Dracula" - providing background of the times, showing the `cover-ups', the inconsistencies, etc whilst at the same time refraining from a thorough examination of the sub-texts of the work. What impressed me most was how well-organized this work was, beginning with:
The Context of Dracula [the Victorian setting, Stoker's background, and the `people' of Dracula],
The Text of Dracula [Author's Preface, Chapters 1-27] - with copious annotations on each page [the text is `chopped' into columns with the notes to the side]
Appendix 1: "Dracula's Guest"
Appendix 2: The Dating of Dracula
Appendix 3: The Chronology of Dracula
Appendix 4: A Whitby Glossary
Part II : Considering the Count [examines fictional accounts, Dracula in academia, on stage and screen, his family tree, and friends] and finally Klinger provides a comprehensive bibliography and textual sources.

To further enhance this glorious work - besides the 1500 or so annotations , there are about 400 illustrations [B&W and full-color] of photographs, playbills, diagrams, maps, advertisements, pictures of cinematic stills etc.

Final verdict - this is a must-have for fans and scholars of Dracula and anyone who has an interest in Gothic literature and/or the Victorian era.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All you ever wanted to know about the original, and MORE!, October 28, 2008

By	New England Yankee (Northern New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The first reviews here are excellent. My intent isn't to add more of the same, but first and foremost to point up a detail that make this volume particularly interesting. That is, the material on which editor Leslie Klinger draws most for his notes and revised ending isn't out of thin air - it's from a previously unknown Bram Stoker manuscript owned by Microsoft's Paul Allen to which he was given access. In other words, the commentary and revised ending aren't expansions, elaborations, or re-imaginings of this much loved but vastly and endlessly over-adapted and reinterpreted story. It's a fresh exposition - and sort of a director's cut, so to speak - of the original! This fact gives this book a place of immediate prominence in the vampire genre.

That's not to say that everything Klinger has noted necessarily adds in this way. Some items are truly trivial and could have been left out - side notes pointing out minor wording corrections in the published edition, for example. There are term definitions that are useful, but don't expand understanding of the text in the same way. So also illustrations of commercial stuff not directly related to the original book (e.g., movie posters and the like).

The reading can feel a little stilted because of the columnar format (annotations in one column, the book text in another). Still, it's better by far than footnotes. And if you want behind-the-scenes insight into the work required to translate a raw manuscript into a finished work, the manuscript annotations will do just that.

Definitely a must-have for the Stoker fan or student of the genre.