Review—The Essential Dracula, Ed. Leonard Wolf
The Definitive Annotated Edition of Bram Stoker's Classic Novel
Nov 11, 2009
The Essential Dracula, edited by Leonard Wolf and first published in 1975, contains a wealth of information for Dracula fans and scholars. Wolf provides an introduction outlining the development of vampire fiction, appendices with the original first chapter of Dracula ("Dracula's Guest") and a list of Dracula films, and an extensive commentary on the history and events in Dracula consisting of several hundred footnotes.
Also included are beautiful illustrations and short essays by modern horror writers on their experiences with Dracula and vampire literature. All of this information, however, often feels more overwhelming than informative.
Footnotes on Stoker's Research
Contrary to what one might assume, Wolf's footnotes do not merely cover the history and influence of Dracula in vampire lore and fiction. Rather, he takes much space–more than occasionally, the footnotes fill half a page or more–discussing the details of the setting and history, and pointing out the extensive research which Stoker conducted not only on vampire legends, but regarding minute details of the setting.
Wolf also goes into great detail on historical events or persons mentioned only briefly in the story, explaining a broader context for Dracula's role as an historical figure. The errors in printing, including miswritten names and errors in the dates of diary entries, are also helpful for interpreting the story.
A Wealth of Tangential Information
Wolf's research is certainly interesting for someone wishing to get a wider picture of Dracula not merely as a vampire story. In addition, Wolf's notes are often fun to read; he has a voice which is conversational without losing its scholarly authority.
Some of the notes, however, feel more like an effort not to go a page without notes (something which may happen a grand total of five times in the entire book) rather than to provide quality information. When Harker cuts himself with a razor, for example, prompting Dracula to briefly reveal his lust for blood, Wolf's helpfully notes that Harker's razor is "a straight razor, one need hardly add."
In addition to these sorts of useless comments, the annotations do not always go into Dracula's vampire lore as much as would befit a volume titled The Essential Dracula. When garlic is mentioned, for instance, Wolf notes that "Because this section of Dracula is heavily annotated, and because the lore of garlic is so rich and strange, I have deferred comment on this remarkable plant."
Most disappointingly, "Dracula's Guest" is free of annotations altogether, when the conceptual differences between Stoker's early drafts and the final version of Dracula is precisely the kind of thing a Dracula fan would want to know.
Useful and Interesting, but Not "Essential"
The Essential Dracula certainly provides a large amount of information which can be useful in many ways, although the extensive notes frequently prove distracting to the casual reader. The extensive bibliography and filmography, in addition, are helpful guides for further research. The lack of focus on vampire lore in particular could be an asset or a disadvantage, depending on what the reader wishes to get out of Wolf's notes.
(The Essential Dracula, by Bram Stoker, ed. Leonard Wolf. Byron Preiss, 1993. ISBN: 0-452-26943-1)
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