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THE FORGOTTEN WRITINGS OF BRAM STOKER

Name: THE FORGOTTEN WRITINGS OF BRAM STOKER
Author: Bram Stoker
ISBN: 978-1-137-27722-0

by Bram Stoker edited by John Edgar Browning ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 24, 2012

A dogged but uneven work of literary excavation of most interest to literary scholars.

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A curious collection of miscellaneous writing by the author of Dracula.

Editor Browning digs into obscure archives for lost works by Stoker (1847–1912), who maintained a rich writing life while serving a 30-year tenure as business manager for the actor Sir Henry Irving, based at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Much of Stoker’s work has, “until now eluded bibliographers,” perhaps because it’s not terribly memorable—for example, many early novels and stories that appeared largely in serial form in British and American periodicals starting with Under the Sunset in 1881. (Browning reports definitively that Dracula was first serialized in the Charlotte Daily Observer from July 16, 1899 to December 10, 1899, much earlier than previously thought.) The tales included here display some of Stoker's weirdly meandering plots and mischievous humor, such as in “Old Hoggen: A Mystery,” narrated by a comfortably well-off husband who is sent out to scour the seacoast of Charmouth for crabs for his mother-in-law and “her daughter” and ends up stumbling literally upon the remains of an old vanished rich denizen by the name of Jabez Hoggen. (One gruesome detail involves several large crabs “walking out of the body,” and which the expedient narrator pockets.) Unsurprisingly, many of the selections reflect Stoker’s close working relationship with the British theatrical company, as in “What They Confessed: A Low Comedian’s Story,” as well as glowing appreciations of actors Irving and Ellen Terry. Also included is a fascinating catalog of the items for sale at the 1913 auction of Stoker’s property, especially his library, full of books by his friend Walt Whitman.

A dogged but uneven work of literary excavation of most interest to literary scholars.

Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-137-27722-0

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
DRACULA
by Bram Stoker ; adapted by Stacy King ; illustrated by Virginia Nitouhei

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.