Dracula

 

I finished. 

Wow, this is one of my favorite books of the 19th Century and I would always add it to list of Victorian fiction to read for everyone. There are many themes, the new woman, science vs superstition, good vs evil, and I suppose the changing world of technology vs the rural lands. I don't know how I could just pin it down. It's told in letters and etc. I loved that. I've read a couple books in letters this year and I'd like to see more books that do this. Dracula is also a history of sorts, of a man who became a demon in order to cheat death and to maintain power. A plus of this book is looking at this mythology which the author paid special attention to. The chase to save people and destroy this evil is one of the best things written in the 19th century. It's Gothic, dark, and has so much subtext. I wanted to read it slow, but I finished a couple of days early. Toward the end, I could not put the book down. I think everyone should read this book. Bram Stoker did a fantastic job. It's a stunning piece of fiction if you really think about it. READ!!!! Perfect for Autumn and Halloween. Dracula and vampires are forever!

More coming and why Dracula inspired me to make some changes on my own story. So much that I decided to read The Norton Edition of Jane Eyre. This probably makes no sense to anyone but me and maybe my BFF, but somehow reading Dracula led me to Jane Eyre and then to how I could solve a problem that has been haunting my manuscript since spring. And this goes to show, that reading does really help writers see new ways to work.