Anno Dracula (novel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

Anno Dracula is a 1992 novel by British writer Kim Newman, the first in the Anno Dracula series. It is an alternate history using 19th century English historical settings and personalities, along with characters from popular fiction. The interplay between humans who have chosen to "turn" into vampires and those who are "warm" (humans) is the backdrop for the plot which tracks Jack the Ripper's politically charged destruction of vampire prostitutes. The reader is alternately and sympathetically introduced to various points of view. The main characters are Jack the Ripper, and his hunters Charles Beauregard, (an agent of the Diogenes Club), and Geneviève Dieudonné, a senior vampire.

[edit] Plot

Count Dracula has married Queen Victoria, ushering in a period of increasing British vampire domination. Dracula is well-advanced in imposing a police state on Great Britain, where dissenters may be jailed or impaled without trial.

Dieudonné has come down in the world, attending sick vampires in a clinic run by a doctor with a shady past. When a prostitute is murdered, Scotland Yard turns to them for an opinion. In the meantime Beauregard's social marriage preparations are interrupted by a summons to the mysterious Diogenes Club, which represents the crown in matters that cannot be made public. There, he is charged with finding Jack the Ripper. At the inquest for the recently destroyed vampire prostitute, Dieudonné and Beauregard appear, with Lestrade from Scotland Yard, and Dr. Jekyll. Each sets out independently, with differing agendas.

Beauregard is abducted by an old enemy, a Tong leader who calls a truce on the understanding that Beauregard will collaborate in finding the killer. This precludes The Ripper being a member of organized crime, and periodically gives Beauregard inside information. Dieudonné stops at a pub, where she encounters the elite of Carpathian riff-raff which Dracula brought to London to control the locals. She confronts one bully, and, being the elder vampire, soundly bests him. Jack Seward, the physician at Dieudonné's clinic, recalls the early days of Dracula in London, before the signs of vampirism were recognized.

As the demands of the Diogenes Club have first priority, a rift opens between Beauregard and his fiancee. Her fascination with social climbing is revealed: "Only vampires get anywhere, Charles." The intimates of Dracula discuss their continued takeover of the government, and set their own man to find Jack the Ripper: The destruction of the vampire prostitutes is drawing unwanted support for an anti-vampire Christian group. Seward becomes lustfully entangled with a "new born" vampire.

Jack the Ripper strikes twice, failing to destroy one, who is brought to the clinic. The prostitute is a vampire of Dracula's line — a contaminated bloodline, from Dieudonné's perspective. It imperfectly changes shape, leaping at Seward as it dies. Trusting their associates, the implication is lost on Dieudonné and Beauregard. Seward notes the growing public hysteria, and reflects "I meant to destroy a monster, not become one."

Beauregard and Dieudonné, having similar ideas, become closer, while his fiancée is increasingly annoyed at his lack of attention. Reporting to the Diogenes, Beauregard is puzzled that his meager progress is satisfactory. Leaving, he becomes entangled in an anti-vampire riot, however he is saved by one of the few vampires at the club, Sergeant Dravot. Beauregard's impatient fiancée becomes a vampire by one of Dracula's men. In her arrogance, the conversion does not go well, and she is barely able to reach the safety of her house. Beauregard and Dieudonné take her in care, Dieudonné observing, without being complimentary, that she may eventually become a strong vampire.

Riots escalate, symbols of rebellion are being painted throughout London. An anti-vampire leader is shot, and one of Dracula's henchmen is destroyed, both perhaps by the same mysterious vampire. The ruling vampires react decisively. A large number of prominent people are to be imprisoned and treated ruthlessly, including George Bernard Shaw, Lewis Carroll, and Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan). Seward becomes increasingly infatuated with his vampire lover, having trouble distinguishing her now from a murdered lover. In Dravot, Dracula's henchmen Godalming believes he has found Jack the Ripper; he is pursuing him when he is destroyed by an old friend who he betrayed by becoming a vampire: Seward.

Beauregard and Dieudonné finally realize that Seward is Jack the Ripper. They race to him, finding he has destroyed his vampire lover. As they leave with him in custody, they encounter Dravot, and the destroyed body of Godalming. Seward is murdered, but then Dravot produces a fabricated story about what happened: that there were two Rippers. Bemused, Beauregard realizes that he has been used as a tool of the Diogenes Club. However he and Dieudonné are to be recognized by the queen for their work. The story concludes with a confrontation between Beauregard, Dieudonné, the queen, and Dracula.

[edit] Characters from fiction

Characters are listed here. Those with more than a passing role are starred. Due to the historical period, many are from works in the public domain.

• Adam Adamant - From the television series Adam Adamant Lives!
• Baron Meinster (from the film The Brides of Dracula)
• Kurt Barlow - From the novel 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
• Brides of Dracula - From the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Sir Danvers Carew - From the novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Carnacki - From the works of William Hope Hodgson
• Barnabas Collins - From soap opera Dark Shadows
• Count Dracula* - From the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Sergeant Dravot* - From the novel The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling
• Gunga Din - From the poem of the same name by Rudyard Kipling
• Soames Forsyte - From The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
• Doctor Fu Manchu - From the novels by Sax Rohmer (not named, but referred to as "The Celestial")
• Griffin - From the novel The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
• Basil Hallward - From the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• Mina Harker - From the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Mycroft Holmes* - From the works of Arthur Conan Doyle
• Sherlock Holmes - From the works of Arthur Conan Doyle
• The hopping Chinese vampire elder from Mr. Vampire*
• Doctor Henry Jekyll* - From the novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Carmilla Karnstein - From the novella Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
• Kostaki* - From the novel The Pale Lady by Alexandre Dumas, père
• Inspector Lestrade* - From the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Lestat de Lioncourt - From the novelInterview With the Vampire by Anne Rice
• Macheath - From the opera The Threepenny Opera
• Prince Mamuwalde - From the film Blacula
• Admiral Sir Mandeville Messervy - Presumably an ancestor of Admiral Sir Miles Messervy from the James Bond books
• Sebastian Moran* - From the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Doctor Moreau* - From the novel The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
• Professor Moriarty - From the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Murgatroyds - From the comic opera Ruddigore by Gilbert and Sullivan
• Orlando - From the novel Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf
• Count Orlok - From the film Nosferatu
• Allan Quatermain - From the books by H. Rider Haggard
• Rupert of Hentzau - From The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel by Anthony Hope
• Lord Ruthven* - From the short storyThe Vampyre by John Polidori (said to be the same as Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd from Ruddigore)
• Kate Reed - A character from Dracula who was cut from the final novel
• John Reid - From the radio show The Lone Ranger
• Doctor John Seward* - From the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Bill Sikes - From the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• Sir Francis Varney - From the novelVarney the Vampire by J. M. Rymer
• Count Von Krolock - From the film The Fearless Vampire Killers
• Count Yorga - From the film of the same name
• Carl Kolchak - From the television films The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, and the subsequent television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker

[edit] Historical people mentioned or appearing as characters

• Frederick Abberline
• Edward Aveling
• Barbara of Celje (here said to be one of the three Brides of Dracula)
• Elizabeth Báthory
• Annie Besant
• Billy the Kid
• Catherine II of Russia
• Annie Chapman
• Marie Corelli
• Edward VII
• Robert Cunninghame-Graham
• W. S. Gilbert
• Frank Harris
• Henry Hyndman
• Eleanor Marx
• Henry Matthews
• Joseph Merrick
• William Morris
• Mary Ann Nichols
• Beatrice Potter
• George Bernard Shaw
• Emma Elizabeth Smith
• William Thomas Stead
• Bram Stoker
• Florence Stoker
• Arthur Sullivan
• Algernon Charles Swinburne
• Martha Tabram
• Alfred Tennyson
• Vlad Tepeş* (here said to be the same person as Dracula)
• Queen Victoria*
• Charles Warren
• Theodore Watts-Dunton
• Oscar Wilde*

[edit] Critical reception

From the book cover: "The most comprehensive, brilliant, dazzlingly audacious vampire novel to date." (Locus); "A tour de fource which succeeds brilliantly." (The Times); "A marvellous marriage of political satire, melodramatic intrigue, gothic horror, and alternative history." (The Independent).

[edit] References

v • d • e Bram Stoker's Dracula Characters of Dracula Count Dracula • Jonathan Harker • Mina Harker • Abraham Van Helsing • Lucy Westenra • Arthur Holmwood • Dr. John Seward • Quincey Morris • Renfield • Brides Film adaptations Nosferatu (1922) • Dracula (1931) • Dracula (1931 Spanish Version) • Drakula İstanbul'da (1953) • Dracula (1958) • Dracula (1968) • Count Dracula (1970) • Dracula (1973) • Count Dracula (1977) • Dracula (1979) • Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) • Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) • Dracula (2002) • Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002) • Dracula (2006) Other films Universal Horror Dracula's Daughter (1936) • Son of Dracula (1943) • House of Frankenstein (1944) • House of Dracula (1945) • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Hammer Horror The Brides of Dracula (1960) • Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) • Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) • Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) • Scars of Dracula (1970) • Dracula AD 1972 (1972) • The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) • The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) Dracula 2000 Dracula 2000 (2000) • Dracula II: Ascension (2003) • Dracula III: Legacy (2005) Parodies Blacula (1972) • Scream Blacula Scream (1973) • Blood for Dracula (1974) • Love at First Bite (1979) • The Monster Squad (1987) • Waxwork (1988) • Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) • Monster Mash (1995) Others Dracula's Death (1923) • Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) • The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1969) • Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) • Zoltan, Hound of Dracula (1978) • The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979) • Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000) • Dracula 3000 (2004) • Blade: Trinity (2004) • Van Helsing (2004) • The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) • Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse (2006) Stage adaptations Dracula (1924) • Count Dracula (1972) • Dracula, a Musical Nightmare (1974) • Dracula (1980) • Dracula: The Musical? (1982) • Dracula (1995) • Dracula (1996) • Dracula (2000) • Dracula, the Musical (2004) Comics The Tomb of Dracula • Dracula (Marvel Comics) • Dracula (Dell Comics) • Sword of Dracula Video games Castlevania • Dracula (Castlevania) • Alucard • Bram Stoker's Dracula See also Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Buffy vs. Dracula" (2000) • Fangland (2007) Alternate storylines Anno Dracula (1992)

This article about a horror novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about a 1990s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.