Dracula's Guest and Other Stories (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural) - Softcover

Bram Stoker

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1840225289 ISBN 13: 9781840225280

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 2006

Synopsis

Unusual book

About this title

Review:

Having demonstrated a wry touch in his reading of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard stories, narrator Rupert Degas shifts gears smoothly with his narration of nine lesser-known works of terror from the author of Dracula. The title story - a section of the famous novel cut prior to publication - is a splendid introduction to both Stoker and Degas. Within a few short passages, the experiences of English solicitor Jonathan Harker, on business in Europe, change dramatically - particularly when he hears warnings against travelling on Walpurgis Night. Without added sound effects, Degas makes the reader hear the threatening cries and quiet isolation Harker experiences after his driver abandons him as night falls. A versatile array of accents enables Degas to ably portray all the stories' many characters. Burial of the Rats, in which a tourist to France must flee for his life, is another highpoint. --Publishers Weekly

Synopsis:

This work is edited and introduced by David Stuart Davies. 'On top of the tomb, seemingly driven through the solid marble - for the structure was composed of a few vast blocks of stone - was a great iron spike or stake. On going to the back I saw, graven in great Russian letters: "The Dead Travel Fast'". In this rich collection of thirteen macabre tales, Bram Stoker, creator of the Gothic masterpiece, "Dracula", and one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative, presents us with a weird and chilling variety of unsettling stories. Stoker's dramatic scenarios, from the opening tale of vampires, "Dracula's Guest", which was omitted from the final version of "Dracula", will thrill and engage the modern reader. In these pages, you will encounter the devilishly dangerous haunted room in "The Judge's House", the fatalistic tragedy in "The Burial of the Rats", the terror of revenge from beyond the grave in "The Secret of Growing Gold" and the surprising twist in the tail in "The Gypsy's Prophecy", amongst other strange and frightening episodes. This unique collection of Stoker's short fiction provides a feast for those who like to be unnerved as well as entertained.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1840225289
• ISBN 13: 9781840225280
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224