Dracula
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Dracula
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By:
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Bram Stoker
When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a house in London, he soon discovers some strange and shocking things about his new client. And then some strange things start happening back in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby, a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.
First published in 1897, Dracula is an epistolary novel, meaning that the narrative is related through letters, diary entries and newspaper articles. The story is brought to life in this Audible production by a group of actors that you might recognise from TV and film: Himesh Patel (Yesterday), Patricia Allison (Sex Education), Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People), Theo James (Divergent series) and Jason Watkins (The Crown).
If you’re in the mood for more gothic classics, check out The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde performed by Pappa Essiedu and Frankenstein performed by Jamie Bell.
Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, LtdBeautiful, understated, true
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Dracula review
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I listened to this newer production over a fortnight, finishing last night, averaging a couple of chapters a day in the late afternoon, evening and at bedtime, as befitting a season of shortening days and lengthening nights. The voice cast comprises numerous stars of stage and screen, including Daisy Edgar Jones, Theo James, Himesh Patel and - most recognisable to me - Jason Watkins, whom I identified as the voice of Van Helsing. One problem was that the end credits did not identify which actor was reading which part: I'm pretty sure that Watkins was playing the Count with Patel portraying Jonathan Harker in the early Transylvanian chapters but a different actor seemed to be occupying the role of Dracula when our heroes confronted him in London. The voice of Dr Seward stood out the most for me: I believe it was James?
I liked the fact that this audiobook version was so faithful to the original though there were a couple of unavoidable downsides as a result: Mr Swales' Whitby dialect was impenetrable at times while I switched off and my mind started wandering during some of Van Helsing's many monologues in his idiosyncratic English. On the plus side it magnified the tragedy of Lucy Westenra and anyone who complains about other fictional characters dying on their wedding day or losing all their loved ones in rapid succession and notes what a toll this would take on their mental health should spare a thought for Arthur Holmwood. He lost his father, future mother-in-law and fiancee in the space of a few days, had to come to terms quickly with the existence of the undead and then saw one of his dearest friends killed in the process of slaying the dragon (it is significant that the narrative begins around St George's Day and ends with the destruction of the foul antagonist whose name translates - hat-tip to Elizabeth Kostova - as 'son of the dragon', six months later).
I also appreciated how I was reminded of listening to bedtime stories as a child - though Dracula would have given the younger me nightmares! - and the oral traditions of reciting ghost stories around the fire on cold dark nights. With Christmas a month away and the stories of M R James one of the staples of the season, as is Dracula, it is good to hear adaptations such as this one which continue to uphold these traditions.
A satisfying new interpretation on a horror classi
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Brilliantly Performed!
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The different actors portraying different characters really adds to the drama.
Only the accents of the non native English speakers distracted me a bit. Especially Van Helsing's was a biiit cringe for me, as a Dutchie myself. (edit: I checked the book in a bookstore, and Van Helsing's lines are written like this.)
Highly Recommended
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