Elizabeth (jopmav) - , reviewed Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories on + 23 more book reviews
Dracula's Guest, edited by Michael Sims, contains a wonderful collection of vampire stories mostly from the Victorian Era. Dracula's Guest includes some well known stories as well as some not so well known stories. Historical information is included throughout the book on the various authors, the time periods and what led people to believe in vampires.
The book is broken down into 3 parts: The Roots, The Tree and The Fruit.
Beginning with The Roots, Sims includes authors such as Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, Antoine Augustin Calmet, George Gordon, Lord Byron, John Polidori, Theophile Gautier and a story attributed to Johann Ludwig Tieck. In the second part, The Tree, authors included are Aleksei Tolstoy, James Malcolm Rymey, Fitz-James O'Brien, Anne Crawford, Emily Gerard, Mary Cholmondeley, Eris, Count Stenbock, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Augustus Hare, F.G. Loring, Hume Nisbet and one story whose author is unknown. The third and final part, The Fruit, includes authors Mary E Wilkins Freeman, M.R.James, Alice and Claude Askew, and Bram Stoker. Michael Sims introduces the book with a story of what led to his ideas for this book.
Sims concludes Dracula's Guest with a listing of bibliography and a detailed list of suggested further readings.
The stories included are for the most part very interesting with the majority of them being very short (as in fewer than 20 pages or so). Sims did a wonderful job of gathering historical information about the authors and presenting it in a way that was not the usual drab or boring manner. I definitely recommend Dracula's Guest to anyone interested in learning more about the progression of vampire stories or those who just love vampires. I found Dracula's Guest to be very informative, interesting and a book that I will re-read again over time.
I won this book in the Goodreads first reads contest.
The book is broken down into 3 parts: The Roots, The Tree and The Fruit.
Beginning with The Roots, Sims includes authors such as Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, Antoine Augustin Calmet, George Gordon, Lord Byron, John Polidori, Theophile Gautier and a story attributed to Johann Ludwig Tieck. In the second part, The Tree, authors included are Aleksei Tolstoy, James Malcolm Rymey, Fitz-James O'Brien, Anne Crawford, Emily Gerard, Mary Cholmondeley, Eris, Count Stenbock, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Augustus Hare, F.G. Loring, Hume Nisbet and one story whose author is unknown. The third and final part, The Fruit, includes authors Mary E Wilkins Freeman, M.R.James, Alice and Claude Askew, and Bram Stoker. Michael Sims introduces the book with a story of what led to his ideas for this book.
Sims concludes Dracula's Guest with a listing of bibliography and a detailed list of suggested further readings.
The stories included are for the most part very interesting with the majority of them being very short (as in fewer than 20 pages or so). Sims did a wonderful job of gathering historical information about the authors and presenting it in a way that was not the usual drab or boring manner. I definitely recommend Dracula's Guest to anyone interested in learning more about the progression of vampire stories or those who just love vampires. I found Dracula's Guest to be very informative, interesting and a book that I will re-read again over time.
I won this book in the Goodreads first reads contest.
