In Search Of Dracula

A newly revised edition of the classic account of Vlad the Impaler--just in time for Halloween--now includes entries from Bram Stoker's recently discovered diaries, the amazing tale of Nicolae Ceausescu's attempt to make Vlad a national hero, and an examination of recent adaptations in fiction, stage and screen. 70 b&w illustrations.

Who was the real man who inspired the Dracula legend? In spring 1460, a contemporary wrote, 'untold abuses, damage hardly reparable, sad murders, mutilations, sorrows' were visited upon the city of Brasov, by 'the unfaithful cruel tyrant Dracula, who calls himself Vlad, prince ... He did this following the teaching of the Devil'. According to legend, he impaled his victims, then sat at table mopping up their blood from his plate; later he hung the still alive bodies of opposing forces on a field of stakes. So began the history of Vlad the Impaler. But were his actions the righteous defence of a kingdom, an act of vengence for the cruel deaths of his father and brother? Or the unspeakable fury of a madman with a taste for blood? Here, M.J. Trow reveals the real man whose name gave birth to a legend. He explores the terror with which the character was once associated, going backwards in time from the celluloid Count of Hammer and Universal Studios to the literary creations of Bram Stoker, Sheridan le Fanu and John Polidori. This book also looks at Vlad from the many facets he has left to history - the Impaler; the Renaissance prince 'more sinned against than sinning' whose reputation was destroyed by his enemies; the hero on a white horse, who welded Wallachia into a fighting and defiant nation-state; the defeated martyr, captured by the Hungarian king Corvinus. A stylishly written and compelling narrative, this book unravels the true story behind the image, and takes us into the heart of the bloody, uncertain world of medieval Europe. M.J. TROW is a crime novelist and historian. His previous books include Boudicca and Who Killed Kit Marlowe?

String garlic by the window and hang a cross around your neck! The most powerful vampire of all time returns in our Stepping Stone Classic adaption of the original tale by Bran Stoker. Follow Johnathan Harker, Mina Harker, and Dr. Abraham van Helsing as they discover the true nature of evil. Their battle to destroy Count Dracula takes them from the crags of his castle to the streets of London... and back again.

The record-breaking phenomenon from Elizabeth Kostova is a celebrated masterpiece that "refashioned the vampire myth into a compelling contemporary novel, a late-night page-turner" (San Francisco Chronicle). Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family’s past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe—in a feat of storytelling so rich, so hypnotic, so exciting that it has enthralled readers around the world. “Part thriller, part history, part romance...Kostova has a keen sense of storytelling and she has a marvelous tale to tell.” —Baltimore Sun