Dracula - Going back to the source

[old man emu]

Have you read War and Peace, The Great Gatsby, For Whom the Bell Tolls, or perhaps Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus? No doubt you have heard about these books, and maybe even seen movies based on those novels, but radio plays, movies and TV shows very often fail to reflect the actual content of those novels.

 

Recently I took up a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula mainly so that I could eventually say, "Oh, yes. I've read that." What amazed me was how Stoker's story is so much better than anything produced based on the original story line. I began reading the novel with a feeling that it would be a Ho-hum horror story that focused on Dracula's blood-sucking activities. But as I read, I was drawn into a really exciting story. I suppose that I was looking for all the images that I have become accustomed to from modern depictions. What I found was that modern depictions, which begin with the 1922 German film Nosferatu, concentrate on Dracula himself - his need to avoid sunlight; that he has no reflection in a mirror nor casts a shadow, and of course his penchant for giving women bloody lovebites on the neck.

 

In the novel, while these things are mentioned and used to instil fear, the majority of the novel deals with four men who have seen what Dracula has done to a woman they loved, and take on the task of locating Dracula and destroying him by driving a wooden spike through his heart and cutting his head from his body, all within the aroma of cloves of garlic. The plot line is can be described as a "seek and destroy" mission, but with a lot more effort to deal with what the men are thinking an doing.

 

It would be unkind of me to go too deeply into the plot. All I cna say is that, if you like a really good, ripping yarn grab a copy of the book and settle down for an enjoyuable read.

 

I was lucky to have picked up a copy published by Penquin Books. The copy I read was the 2003 revised edition with chapter annotations, and appendices by Maurice Hindle, Visiting Fellow in the Department of Literature at The Open University, in England. If you want to read the same edition, ask your libraian to use this ISBN-13: 978-0-141-43984-6.

[rgmwa]

HHG Dacre Stoker was the commander of the Australian submarine AE2 that was eventually sunk in the Sea of Mamara in WW1. Bram Stoker was his cousin. 

[old man emu]

Didn't know thatr about Dcre Stoker. The AE2 played an important part in disrupting the Ottoman Navy on the 25th April 1915. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_AE2

[Jerry_Atrick]

I can't believe how imaginative the story line is.. goes to show mind bending substances were rampant even then..

 

Ok bad sick joke time (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)

 

what is the definition of Dracuka's teabag?

 

A used tampon

 

(Sorry.. wolfie was about)

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

goes to show mind bending substances were rampant even then..

 

I doubt that Stoker was "using", as it took him about seven years to write the novel, during which time he had a fulltime job as a theatrical manager. He did a lot of research into dialects for saome of the ancilliary characters in the story (mostly workmen who had at times been involved in movin Dracula's stuff around.

 

This novel contains probably the first mention of the use of a typewriter and a Dicta-Phone tpe of device in modern literature. The Dicta-Phone device mentioned was an Edison wax cylinder voice recorder.

[ClintonB]

I read it as a teenager, when I finally unpack my library into its new shipping container home I will look for it and maybe have another read of it.

i remember it being well written.

the amount of books I have to unpack, sort and shelve will be fun. I hope the 40 footer is big enough. Planning on dark wood, a copy chesterfield lounge ( fake leather, price of real scared me) maybe whiskey bar in one corner to sit and enjoy a good read with a glass.

[Litespeed]

Forget the fake Chesterfield, they cost a bomb and wear out real fast.

 

Buy a quality real leather one 2 nd hand and it will have quality in build and comfy long life cushioning.

 

It really pays to wait for a real one to come up.

Fake leather wears fast then looks shite.

 

Just bought a $5000 Italian lounge for $1000 as new for art studio, very high quality and far cheaper than a fake new.

Edited Thursday at 08:57 AM by Litespeed

[ClintonB]

Litespeed you might be ont something there, a worn one would give me the aged look I want in there. Hole in hillside is dug out, need a semi to pick up my 40 footer from Tamworth and bring it over.

[facthunter]

Leather is not used for the Best car seats. In the USA Leather is Plentiful because of the Hamburgers and steak consumption. Nev

[spacesailor]

RR has it's own farms and pedigree bovines , just to keep their leather in pristine condition .

Hence no barbed-wire , or even ' raspberry bushes ' .

SUPPOSEDLY , the best leather in the world .

My " Italian Leather " lounge suit only lasted 4 or 5 years before the arm-rests had holes in them .

Very thin were it had to be shaped over the " arm-rest " .

spacesailor

 PS. :  who gets to eat the meat , from the world's most expensive beef .

 

[onetrack]

Clinton, I trust you've taken plenty of steps towards protection and preservation of your container if you're going to bury it - because they were never designed to be buried, and the corrosion is relentless and horrendous when unprotected items are buried in the ground. Acids and chemicals in the soil, combined with water travelling through the soil, are highly destructive and corrosive on buried metals.

 

You need to coat the container with a highly protective coating, preferably an epoxy or other high quality, moisture-sealing compound. Then you need to protect it further with heavy duty plastic sheeting that covers the entire container and which sheeting is thoroughly sealed. Otherwise, you'll find your container being destroyed and unusable within a few short years, if you don't take those protective steps.

[facthunter]

Storing stuff in Containers can ruin the stuff you store, quicktime..  Best is sealed and Moisture Proofed and away from Light. Dust always has chemicals in it. Higher up in a shed is dryer and warmer. Protective stable wax can help. . Nev