Название: Dracula
Автор: Bram Stoker
Издательство: LibriVox
Эту книгу озвучил: LibriVox Volunteers
Год выпуска: 2010
Жанр: Dramatic Readings, Horror & Supernatural Fiction
Аудио кодек: mp3
Битрейт аудио: 128 kbps
Продолжительность: 18:02:32
Качество: Отличное
Размер: 970 Мб
Язык: Английский

Bram Stoker did not invent the vampire story, but he popularized it with his classic 1897 novel. In form Dracula is an epistolary novel, told through a series of journal entries, letters, newspaper articles, and telegrams.

It begins with lawyer Jonathan Harker's perilous journey to Castle Dracula in Transylvania, and chronicles the vampire's invasion of England, where he preys upon the lovely Lucy Westenra and Harker's fiancee, Mina. Harker and Mina join forces with lunatic asylum proprieter Dr. Seward, Lucy's fiance Arthur Holmwood, Texas man of action Quincey Morris, and Dutch vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing to try and defeat their powerful adversary.

Dracula tells the tale of a sinister Transylvanian aristocrat who seeks to retain his youth and strength by feeding off human blood.

The author, Bram Stoker, a young Victorian theater professional, was probably inspired by the strange epidemic of vampirism that occurred in remote parts of Eastern Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. These stories were recounted by travelers who later arrived in England and other parts of Western Europe. Stoker initially meant the tale to be written as a play in which he wanted Sir Henry Irving, a leading Victorian actor, to play the role of the malevolent Count Dracula. However, as circumstances would have it, Irving never played the part and Stoker's story finally took the form of a novel.

The book, published in 1897, is constructed in a very interesting format. The story is told via a set of letters, diary entries, ship's logs and newspaper reports. It begins with the journey of a young lawyer, Jonathan Harker, who is traveling to Transylvania on his legal firm's business, to finalize the transfer of a property in England to an East European aristocrat, Count Dracula. Harker is initially charmed by the suave and debonair count's hospitality, but gradually comes to realize Dracula's malevolent intentions.

The plot takes up the tale of various other people in the story – Harker's fiancee Mina, her friend Lucy, a former suitor Dr Seward and his teacher, Professor Van Helsing. A host of other characters adds to the twists and turns in the narrative.

Dracula represents the dawn of Gothic horror fiction in the contemporary era and its earliest reviews called it "blood-curdling” though it didn't receive much commercial success. However, it really caught the public imagination with its American publication in 1899, and in the 20th century, when film and television versions began to appear. Today, Dracula-theme tours are one of the hottest attractions in countries like Romania in Eastern Europe and studies have uncovered the historical figures who actually existed behind the fictional character of the evil count.

A great read for a dark and gloomy night. Just make sure your windows are tightly shut!

Cast:

Jonathan Harker: mb
Mina Murray Harker: Elizabeth Klett
Lucy Westenra: Arielle Lipshaw
Dr. Seward: Denny Sayers
Quincey P. Morris: Eric Zetterlund
Arthur Holmwood: Brett W. Downey
Cutting from The Dailygraph: Kara Shallenberg
Log of the Demeter: Chuck Burke
Samuel F. Billington & Son: Katalina Watt
Carter, Patterson & Co: Robert B.
Sister Agatha: Availle
Abraham Van Helsing: Rismyth
The Pall Mall Gazette: Lucy Perry
Patrick Hennessey: Dee Wyckoff
The Westminster Gazette: David Lawrence
Mitchell, Sons, & Candy: Robert B.
Rufus Smith Telegrams: Nadine Eckert-Boulet