Published in 1897, Bram Stoker's
Dracula
was the last of the nineteenth century's three major horror stories. It followed Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein
and Robert Louis Stevenson's
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
, but Stoker's novel had the greater impact on our culture and our nightmares. Count Dracula has been called the king of the vampires, but, in truth, he is the king of all the monsters, and his influence can be seen everywhere today: in everything from the number-obsessed count on sesame street to the vast fandom for Anne Rice's vampire chronicles. He is arguably the most recognized of characters, not the least of which is the iconic performance of Bella Lugosi. With Stoker's novel serving as the backbone, this
Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion
to the world's most famous vampire considers all aspects of the Dracula phenomenon in often entertaining and unexpected ways-in the
Bedside
tradition: the book, its author, its psychological and sociological implications, the stage plays, the movies, television versions, the actors, and, of course, the historical Dracula, Vlad the Impaler.