Krusberg Art Book Review

Draculas Homep

Review by Cathy Krusberg
A version of this review will appear in The Vampire's Crypt 24 (Fall 2001). The Vampire's Crypt web site is: http://members.aol.com/MLCVamp/vampcrpt.htm Elizabeth Miller. Dracula. Parkstone Press, 2001. ISBN 1-85995-780-3 (English), 1-85995-781-1 (German), 1-85995-782-X (French). $55.00/$69.90/34.95 British pounds. It's a coffee table book for your coffee table. In fact, at 9-3/4" x 12-1/2" (that's 25 x 32 cm to the rest of the world), it's nearly big enough to be your coffee table. At 223 pages, it's nearly thick enough, too. But don't let the profuse, high-quality illustrations mislead you: Parkstone Press's Dracula, with its text by recognized Dracula scholar Elizabeth Miller, has intellectual as well as aesthetic virtues. In other words, it belongs on the coffee table rather than the shelf because it's a book the vampire or Dracula aficionado can show to guests with pride. The book's four chapters explore basic aspects of the Dracula phenomenon: the historical Dracula, vampires in fiction, Stoker's novel itself, and Dracula as a pop culture icon. The first chapter sets Vlad Dracula in his historical context, giving a clear and very readable overview of Wallachian history, detailing sources of information on Dracula the voivode, and describing the nineteenth- century revival of interest in Dracula as a national hero. Vlad's atrocities are a sine qua non for discussions of his life and times, but Miller also looks at the story behind the stories, explaining the political motives that may be behind some extant accounts of his most notorious deeds. That Dracula was considered a Romanian national hero centuries after his death bespeaks more than tyranny in his rule, however harsh it may have been. The second chapter examines both folkloric and literary vampirism. Blood and death, the common denominators of vampire lore, are also central to Christian doctrine, and vampire folk legends have gained added significance from differences between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Eighteenth-century "sightings" made "vampire" a household word in the English language, and the Gothic literary movement gave vampires a foot in the door of fiction. Miller notes particularly the significance of Polidori's story "The Vampyre" and lists the vampire traits that had been established as a literary trope at the time of Dracula's composition. The chapter on Bram Stoker's Dracula outlines the novel and gives a brief biography of its author, as well as delving into Stoker's sources for information on such topics as the name Dracula and the Transylvanian setting. Miller discusses interpretations of this "textually dense narrative" from religious to sexual to historical- contextual to political. The fourth chapter, "Dracula the Immortal," looks at Dracula and other vampires as we know them today: pop culture icons represented everywhere from comics to cereal boxes, the focus of fan clubs and scholarly organizations. Dracula itself is better known from rewritings, prequels, sequels, and derivative movies and has (along with vampires in general) undergone popular culture redefinitions. In light of reworkings ranging from versions sanitized for children to good-guy vampires on TV, Miller observes that "Today's vampires reflect the very ambivalence that characterizes the post-modern age." This chapter describes the ambivalent treatment that the historical Dracula also suffers. Romania still recognizes him as a national hero, but the rest of the world knows him chiefly because of his tenuous connection with a fictional figure that was until recently nearly unknown in his native land. Miller treats the split personality of Dracula tourism in Romania, also mentioning Whitby and Dublin as of interest to sight-seers for their connection to Stoker and his novel. Miller concludes by recognizing and offering explanations for the enduring appeal of Dracula and Dracula. The illustrations include paintings with historical or religious significance, contemporary depictions of Bram Stoker, art from nineteenth-century vampire-related works, and photographs of Eastern European locations. Film stills include not only the obvious – Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Christopher Lee -- but scenes from Vlad Tepes, a Romanian film about the life of Vlad Dracula. The sheer size of some illustrations makes them impressive: you may have seen the portrait of Vlad Dracula before, but probably never this big. Many of the images will be familiar to longtime vampire fans: the Bela Lugosi stills, the Varney the Vampire woodcuts, Alfred Bryan's drawing of Bram Stoker with his umbrella. But there are also drawings of Stoker that haven't had such wide circulation; Dracula postage stamps from the United States, Great Britain, and Ireland; modern postcards depicting Vlad Dracula; and of course the photographs of Targoviste, Poenari, and Borgo Pass. Practically all images are of excellent quality and, where feasible, in color. Not surprisingly for a coffee table book, Dracula's chief drawback is its typesetting. The paragraphs are not indented, and in far too many cases there is no space between them, or a line feed occurred at the end of a sentence; it's impossible to tell which. It looks as if a designer rather than a typesetter was in charge of both typesetting and proofreading, although the handful of typos as such are annoying rather than painful. But while the lack of textual quality control does a minor disservice to Miller's prose, her lucid and well-documented presentation remains a highlight of a work that is more than pretty pictures. Dracula recommends itself for new vampire fans who want an informed introduction to the field's mix of history, literature, and pop culture, and for not-yet-vampire-fans who need an intelligent introduction to convince them the field isn't just sex and gore. Moreover, both text and illustrations can appeal to vampire aficionados of long standing as more than just a rehash. Readers coming from any background will enjoy the generous high-quality illustrations that accompany the text. That is, after all, what a coffee table book is for. Elizabeth Miller's web site is http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller. There will be a book launch at 6:00 p.m. Monday, May 21, at Rizzoli Bookstore, 31 W 57th Street (near Fifth Avenue), New York. Dr. Miller will be on hand for signings.

Review by Cathy Krusberg

A version of this review will appear in The Vampire's
Crypt 24 (Fall 2001). The Vampire's Crypt web site is:
http://members.aol.com/MLCVamp/vampcrpt.htm

Elizabeth Miller. Dracula. Parkstone Press, 2001. ISBN 1-85995-780-3
(English), 1-85995-781-1 (German), 1-85995-782-X (French).
$55.00/$69.90/34.95 British pounds.

It's a coffee table book for your coffee table.

In fact, at 9-3/4" x 12-1/2" (that's 25 x 32 cm to the rest of
the world), it's nearly big enough to be your coffee table. At
223 pages, it's nearly thick enough, too. But don't let the
profuse, high-quality illustrations mislead you: Parkstone Press's
Dracula, with its text by recognized Dracula scholar Elizabeth
Miller, has intellectual as well as aesthetic virtues. In other
words, it belongs on the coffee table rather than the shelf because
it's a book the vampire or Dracula aficionado can show to guests
with pride.

The book's four chapters explore basic aspects of the Dracula
phenomenon: the historical Dracula, vampires in fiction, Stoker's
novel itself, and Dracula as a pop culture icon. The first chapter
sets Vlad Dracula in his historical context, giving a clear and
very readable overview of Wallachian history, detailing sources of
information on Dracula the voivode, and describing the nineteenth-
century revival of interest in Dracula as a national hero. Vlad's
atrocities are a sine qua non for discussions of his life and
times, but Miller also looks at the story behind the stories,
explaining the political motives that may be behind some extant
accounts of his most notorious deeds. That Dracula was considered
a Romanian national hero centuries after his death bespeaks more
than tyranny in his rule, however harsh it may have been.

The second chapter examines both folkloric and literary vampirism.
Blood and death, the common denominators of vampire lore, are also
central to Christian doctrine, and vampire folk legends have gained
added significance from differences between the Eastern Orthodox
and Roman Catholic churches. Eighteenth-century "sightings" made
"vampire" a household word in the English language, and the Gothic
literary movement gave vampires a foot in the door of fiction.
Miller notes particularly the significance of Polidori's story "The
Vampyre" and lists the vampire traits that had been established as
a literary trope at the time of Dracula's composition.

The chapter on Bram Stoker's Dracula outlines the novel and gives
a brief biography of its author, as well as delving into Stoker's
sources for information on such topics as the name Dracula and the
Transylvanian setting. Miller discusses interpretations of this
"textually dense narrative" from religious to sexual to historical-
contextual to political.

The fourth chapter, "Dracula the Immortal," looks at Dracula and
other vampires as we know them today: pop culture icons represented
everywhere from comics to cereal boxes, the focus of fan clubs and
scholarly organizations. Dracula itself is better known from
rewritings, prequels, sequels, and derivative movies and has (along
with vampires in general) undergone popular culture redefinitions.
In light of reworkings ranging from versions sanitized for children
to good-guy vampires on TV, Miller observes that "Today's vampires
reflect the very ambivalence that characterizes the post-modern
age."

This chapter describes the ambivalent treatment that the historical
Dracula also suffers. Romania still recognizes him as a national
hero, but the rest of the world knows him chiefly because of his
tenuous connection with a fictional figure that was until recently
nearly unknown in his native land. Miller treats the split
personality of Dracula tourism in Romania, also mentioning Whitby
and Dublin as of interest to sight-seers for their connection to
Stoker and his novel. Miller concludes by recognizing and offering
explanations for the enduring appeal of Dracula and Dracula.

The illustrations include paintings with historical or religious
significance, contemporary depictions of Bram Stoker, art from
nineteenth-century vampire-related works, and photographs of
Eastern European locations. Film stills include not only the
obvious – Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu the Vampyre,
Christopher Lee -- but scenes from Vlad Tepes, a Romanian film
about the life of Vlad Dracula. The sheer size of some
illustrations makes them impressive: you may have seen the portrait
of Vlad Dracula before, but probably never this big. Many of the
images will be familiar to longtime vampire fans: the Bela Lugosi
stills, the Varney the Vampire woodcuts, Alfred Bryan's drawing
of Bram Stoker with his umbrella. But there are also drawings of
Stoker that haven't had such wide circulation; Dracula postage
stamps from the United States, Great Britain, and Ireland; modern
postcards depicting Vlad Dracula; and of course the photographs of
Targoviste, Poenari, and Borgo Pass. Practically all images are of
excellent quality and, where feasible, in color.

Not surprisingly for a coffee table book, Dracula's chief
drawback is its typesetting. The paragraphs are not indented, and
in far too many cases there is no space between them, or a line
feed occurred at the end of a sentence; it's impossible to tell
which. It looks as if a designer rather than a typesetter was in
charge of both typesetting and proofreading, although the handful
of typos as such are annoying rather than painful. But while the
lack of textual quality control does a minor disservice to Miller's
prose, her lucid and well-documented presentation remains a
highlight of a work that is more than pretty pictures. Dracula
recommends itself for new vampire fans who want an informed
introduction to the field's mix of history, literature, and pop
culture, and for not-yet-vampire-fans who need an intelligent
introduction to convince them the field isn't just sex and gore.
Moreover, both text and illustrations can appeal to vampire
aficionados of long standing as more than just a rehash. Readers
coming from any background will enjoy the generous high-quality
illustrations that accompany the text. That is, after all, what a
coffee table book is for.

Elizabeth Miller's web site is http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller.

There will be a book launch at 6:00 p.m. Monday, May 21, at Rizzoli
Bookstore, 31 W 57th Street (near Fifth Avenue), New York.
Dr. Miller will be on hand for signings.