Dracula

This article is about the novel. For the eponymous character, see Count Dracula.

Dracula is an 1897 epistolary novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula.Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the Gothic novel and invasion literature.The novel is mainly composed of journal entries and letters written by several narrators who also serve as the novel's main protagonists; Stoker supplemented the story with occasional newspaper clippings to relate events not directly witnessed by the story's characters.

The tale begins with Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, journeying by train and carriage from England to Count Dracula's crumbling, remote castle. The purpose of his mission is to provide legal support to Dracula for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer, Peter Hawkins, of Exeter in England. At first enticed by Dracula's gracious manner, Harker soon discovers that he has become a prisoner in the castle.

Harker barely escapes from the castle with his life.The book closes with a note about Mina's and Jonathan's married life and the birth of their first-born son, whom they name after all four members of the party, but refer to only as Quincey in remembrance of their American friend.

When it was first published, in 1897, Dracula was not an immediate bestseller, although reviewers were unstinting in their praise. However, some Victorian fans were ahead of the time, describing it as "the sensation of the season" and "the most blood-curdling novel of the paralyzed century".Similarly good reviews appeared when the book was published in the U.S. in 1899. The first American edition was published by Doubleday and McClure in New York.
Although Dracula is a work of fiction, it does contain some historical references. The historical connections with the novel and how much Stoker knew about the history are a matter of conjecture and debate.The Dracula legend as he created it, and as it has been portrayed in films and television shows, may be a compound of various influences.The story of Dracula has been the basis for countless films and plays.