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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Earliest Novels by the Writer of 'Dracula',
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This review is from: Primrose Path, The (Hardcover)
`The Primrose Path' is part of unique collection `Dracula Library' from Desert Island Books. The book by Bram Stoker was originally written for the Shamrock, obscure Irish magazine in 1875, twenty-two years before the publication of `Dracula'
But this comparatively short novel (or novella I should call it) is not a horror. It is a little moralistic tale about one Jerry O'Sullivan, honest Dublin theatrical carpenter, who moves to London, seeking a better job. Against the better judgment of the people surrounding him, Jerry decides to go to the metropolis with his faithful wife Katey. O'Sullivan is hired as head carpenter in a squalid theater in London, but after several misfortunes he is strongly tempted by alcohol. You find few Gothic factors in this story about the hero's moral downfall. The story is more like a tract about drinking, but it is most impressive when it describes the small world of backstage of the theater, the place with which Bram Stoker was fascinated all through his life. The tale is also interesting because it anticipates the life of Bram Stoker himself, who later went to London and became the business manager for Henry Irving. Otherwise, the story is unremarkable. The dinner party scenes, which aim for Dickensian humor of eccentric characters, all fall flat, and the tragic results of Jerry's life looks less like a psychological study than a melodramatic stage. The book also has Stoker's short story `Buried Treasures' published at the same period of his life. The short story is about exactly what the title suggests, treasures in a sunken ship. The tale is readable, but is nothing special except the vivid descriptions of the seaside and the stormy weather. `The Primrose Path' shows unexpectedly moral side of the writer of `Dracula' who is still trying to find his own voice and style. Keep that in mind, and read the book as such.
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