Dracula: The Connoisseur's Guide
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Overview
In the 100 years since its publication, Bram Stoker's Dracula has never been out of print. Once introduced to the world by the silent film classic Nosferatu in 1921, Dracula became an enduring icon of fear, forever immortalized as a frightful embodiment of evil and forbidden sexuality.
Now, in this fascinating and entertaining account, Wolf examines the various interpretations of the immortal vampire in print, film, television, theater, and literature, including an extensive outline of Bram Stoker's life and his literary masterpiece, Dracula. Wolf explains how the story of a sexually sadistic undead creature/man who feeds on blood worked its way into mainstream society and how it is now used as a ubiquitous marketing tool for products from hair tonic to children's breakfast cereal.
The sourcebook includes:
* An exploration and the history of vampire myths, including the tale of Vlad the Impaler
* An overview of vampire films from the silent classic Nosferatu to Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula
* A discussion of vampire bats and the lore of blood
* A complete bibliography, filmography with movie stills, telefilmography, and a theater chronology
* Maps of Transylvania, London, and Whitby
* A calendar to coincide with the "real time" actions of Bram Stoker's Dracula, complete with sunrise and sunset times as well as the all-important phases of the moon
* And much more...
Synopsis
In the 100 years since its publication, Bram Stoker's Dracula has never been out of print. Once introduced to the world by the silent film classic Nosferatu in 1921, Dracula became an enduring icon of fear, forever immortalized as a frightful embodiment of evil and forbidden sexuality.
Now, in this fascinating and entertaining account, Wolf examines the various interpretations of the immortal vampire in print, film, television, theater, and literature, including an extensive outline of Bram Stoker's life and his literary masterpiece, Dracula. Wolf explains how the story of a sexually sadistic undead creature/man who feeds on blood worked its way into mainstream society and how it is now used as a ubiquitous marketing tool for products from hair tonic to children's breakfast cereal.
The sourcebook includes:
* An exploration and the history of vampire myths, including the tale of Vlad the Impaler
* An overview of vampire films from the silent classic Nosferatu to Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula
* A discussion of vampire bats and the lore of blood
* A complete bibliography, filmography with movie stills, telefilmography, and a theater chronology
* Maps of Transylvania, London, and Whitby
* A calendar to coincide with the "real time" actions of Bram Stoker's Dracula, complete with sunrise and sunset times as well as the all-important phases of the moon
* And much more...
Publishers Weekly
Dracula scholar Wolf (The Essential Dracula) brings intellectual curiosity and an easygoing style to this entertaining compendium of Dracula lore, which will appeal equally to devotees and the uninitiated. Beginning with an examination of blood rituals and taboos, a survey of vampire folklore from Bulgaria to China and a review of the biology of vampire bats, he goes on to discuss Bram Stoker's 1897 cult novel, Dracula, and its roots in gothic fiction, in the gory deeds of Vlad the Impaler, 15th-century mass murderer and prince of Wallachia; and in Stoker's repression of his alleged homosexuality. Wolf disputes the suggestion of Stoker's most recent biographer, Barbara Belford, that Dracula is a sinister caricature of the Dublin novelist's unacknowledged love interest, actor Henry Irving, yet Wolf maintains that Stoker poured all the pain and confusion of his repressed feelings into his one masterpiece. This guidebook decodes the symbolism and eroticism of Dracula movies from F.W. Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu to Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula. Wolf also scans the vampire fiction of Stephen King and Anne Rice, and investigates Dracula's multiple meanings in pop culture. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.) FYI: Leonard Wolf's daughter, Naomi, has a new book due out in June from Random House.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Dracula scholar Wolf (The Essential Dracula) brings intellectual curiosity and an easygoing style to this entertaining compendium of Dracula lore, which will appeal equally to devotees and the uninitiated. Beginning with an examination of blood rituals and taboos, a survey of vampire folklore from Bulgaria to China and a review of the biology of vampire bats, he goes on to discuss Bram Stoker's 1897 cult novel, Dracula, and its roots in gothic fiction, in the gory deeds of Vlad the Impaler, 15th-century mass murderer and prince of Wallachia; and in Stoker's repression of his alleged homosexuality. Wolf disputes the suggestion of Stoker's most recent biographer, Barbara Belford, that Dracula is a sinister caricature of the Dublin novelist's unacknowledged love interest, actor Henry Irving, yet Wolf maintains that Stoker poured all the pain and confusion of his repressed feelings into his one masterpiece. This guidebook decodes the symbolism and eroticism of Dracula movies from F.W. Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu to Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula. Wolf also scans the vampire fiction of Stephen King and Anne Rice, and investigates Dracula's multiple meanings in pop culture. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.) FYI: Leonard Wolf's daughter, Naomi, has a new book due out in June from Random House.School Library Journal
YA-Although Bram Stoker's 19th-century Gothic novel has never been out of print, far more people are familiar with the cultural artifacts it has spawned in the 20th century than have ever read the book. Wolf, probably the best-known Dracula scholar, has been writing thoughtful books on the subject for 25 years. His "connoisseur's guide" should be an enjoyable source for anyone intrigued by vampire lore or curious about its ubiquitousness in popular culture. Stylish graphics and a sly humor communicate the appeal of the subject. Brief essays cover topics such as "the lure and lore of death and vampirism," "the movie Draculas," and "the vampire bat and...its family values." One on Stoker himself tells of his correspondence with the poet Walt Whitman and provides insight regarding the creative process that produced the novel. Another, on Dracula's "fictional descendants," touches upon the work of several of the genre's more notable writers in horror, science fiction, and even mainstream literature; though this brief treatment cannot do full justice to the burgeoning market in vampire fiction, it is an excellent introduction. Teachers can use this book to encourage students to explore a number of literary questions, and vampire fans will enjoy it for its breadth of perspective and as a source of arcane data such as a monthly calendar that shows the phases of the moon during the events of the Dracula novel. It might even inspire some of them to read the book.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VAKirkus Reviews
Afraid of the dark? Don't worry, this anemic collection of vampiriana is more likely to put you to sleep than to add to your wakefulness.Novelist, veteran chronicler of the macabre, and consultant to Francis Ford Coppola's film version of Dracula, Wolf (The Glass Mountain, 1993, etc.) returns to some very familiar haunts. In fact, he seems to be fast running out of new things to say, citing his prior work at least 40 times. For the rest, it's a lot of bloodless flapdoodle and flapping about, an if-it's-Tuesday-it- must-be-Nosferatu quickie tour of all the obvious highlights of vampire lore and legend: first off, a discourse on blood, then on to Dracula's historical "inspiration," the psychopathic Vlad the Impaler. Next, we hurry through a history of the gothic novel, a pocket bio of Bram Stoker, and a bite-size synopsis of his Dracula. Finally, we review modern films and fiction (Anne Rice ad nauseam) with vampire themes. Yet Wolf is an intelligent observer and competent writer, and he does occasionally tap into an interesting vein. For instance, he shrewdly analyzes how radically vampirism's mythopoeic import has changed with the times. In Stoker's era, it was all about sexual anxiety. In the '60s, America became the great vampire, sucking up helpless Vietnam's lifeblood. Then, in the '90s, the vampire as eros and thanatos is symbolically entwined with AIDS. More along these lines, more diversion, deeper thought, would have been welcome.
This is not a book for connoisseurs, experts, or even dilettantes. Only, perhaps, as a Dracula 101 introduction for the uninitiated does it really work.