The Forgotten Writings of Bram Stoker

by | Oct 21, 2012 | Reviews | 0 comments

The Forgotten Writings of Bram Stoker is impressive right from the first page, in that the book is revealed to be a collaboration between three people considered experts in vampire lore in one fashion or another:  John Edgar Browning and Elizabeth Miller are both well regarded academic scholars in the field, and Dacre Stoker, a relative of Stoker’s and a novelist in his own right, provides a insight about the Stoker family.  Browning edited the entire volume, while Miller only wrote the foreword and Stoker the afterword, but the concept of all three together on one project was a smart move. The book contains rare and unpublished works by Stoker, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as writings about Stoker by his contemporaries, and even a catalogue of Stoker’s personal library (which was sold following his death).  The volume is neatly divided into sections and features some contemporaneous illustrations to match the readings.  The book even contains Stoker’s obituary, and fittingly, considering that Stoker died in 2012, the book will be published this year, the centenary of his death.  If you are expecting a full selection of readings that are somehow gothic or horror-themed, be forewarned–this is not Dracula–there are comedic writings and even love stories in this volume; however, if you have any interest in Bram Stoker at all, this is a book for you.