Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire StoriesMichael Sims
Walker & Company, June 2010
ISBN: 978-0802719713
In Dracula's Guest, acclaimed nonfiction author and anthologist Michael Sims brings together the very best vampire stories of the nineteenth century Victorian era—from England, America, France, Germany, and you guessed it, Transylvania. This collection of 22 tales has been meticulously compiled for vampire-lit fans to sample and enjoy.
Dracula's Guest is nicely divided into 3 parts: The Roots, The Tree and The Fruit. Each story is prefaced by a brief literary biography of the author, and arranged to show how vampire tales and myths have evolved. Sims introduces the book with a story of what led to his ideas for this book. The stories range from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Oval Portrait" and Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla" to Guy de Maupassant's "The Horla" and Mary Elizabeth Braddon's "Good Lady Ducayne." Sims also includes a nineteenth-century travel tour of Transylvanian superstitions. It also features allegedly factual accounts of monsters that inspired Lord Byron. The final story in this anthology is Stoker's Dracula's Guest, believed to be an exorcised segment of the original "Dracula." Many people believe that Dracula’s Guest was originally the opening chapter to his novel "Dracula," but when he cut it out, he recycled it as a short story.
Dracula's Guest brings together some of the most influential vampire-based short stories in literary history. There is a substantial amount of history and lore to be found here about the fictional vampire and its popularity in modern-day culture. Sims concludes Dracula's Guest with a listing of bibliography and a detailed list of suggested further readings. Dracula's Guest is dark, stormy, and delicious, once you’re in its clutches there's no escape. From the first to last bite, it's a bloody good read. Get your copy today and sink your teeth in!
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