Dracula (Classic Book By You)

Solicitor Jonathan Harker visits Count Dracula in Trannsylvania in order to finalise the details of a house Dracula is buying in England. This book was written long before Twilight, so the possibility of Dracula’s being a vampire doesn’t occur to Jonathan at first, but there is definitely something a bit off about this guy who never eats, doesn’t appear in mirrors, and seems to spend every night flying around like a big bat. Jonathan manages to escape from the castle and return to his fiancée Mina, but he soon realises Dracula is close behind him.

Everyone is always so worried about frightening the poor little children – and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. But spare a thought for the poor little adults. I was much more resilient when I was a child. When I was nine, I read Dracula for the first time and barely turned a hair, though I was a bit sad when my favourite character was turned into a vampire. But the violence and insanity didn’t bother me at all.

But reading the book again now as an adult (albeit a rather childlike one), I found it terrifying (in a good way). It’s probably not one to read during breakfast or last thing at night (which was difficult for me, as that’s when I do most of my reading), but it’s an incredible book. It can be slow in places, and I did wonder what the random lunatic was doing in the middle of my vampire book, but Dracula is exciting, atmospheric and wonderfully descriptive. You really want to know what happens next, even if there is a part of you that would rather close the book and keep well away.

Dracula is no Edward (well, I assume he isn’t, I still haven’t read Twilight) and seems far from attractive, but there is something very compelling about him. When I watch Don Giovanni, I like to think that (if I was in the right mood and he asked me really nicely), I just might consider jumping into the eponymous anti-hero’s bed. Allowing someone to suck my blood sounds a lot less enjoyable than a romp with a guy who really ought to know what he’s doing after all the practice he’s had, but there is something irresistible about Dracula, and writer Bram Stoker makes it very clear why Dracula’s victims can’t resist him.

The human characters aren’t bad either. Jonathan, the hero, is sweet, serious and completely adorkable. His wife Mina is a very strong character who shows she’s equal to the men in intelligence and courage (not that there’s any reason why she shouldn’t be, but it’s not a given in books from the century before last).

Mina’s friend Lucy is surrounded by men who want to marry her, but she seems sweet, innocent, and incapable of leading anyone on. But if you don’t know the story, it might be a good idea to find out a bit about Lucy before you name her after someone you know. I’m not sure everyone would appreciate it. For this reason, I decided to keep Dracula’s original name rather than name him after one of my friends. But if you know any guys who suck, you know what to do.

The characters of Dr Seward and Professor Van Helsing are two very different but equally fascinating scientists. When they speak or write about their work, it never seems dumbed down, yet it’s still very easy to follow what they’re saying. Perhaps the really annoying people who write instructions for electrical devices should take note.

I started buying books from BookByYou because I wanted to have the kind of adventures I can’t have in real life (it does get exhausting using your own imagination all the time), but through BookByYou, I’ve discovered a new favourite writer (Agatha Christie – my bookshelves are full of her books which I’ve ‘forgotten’ to give back to my mum) and now they’ve reminded me that vampires are brilliant characters even when I don’t get to snog them.