'Dracula' by Bram Stoker

For my chosen novel I have decided to read and research 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker. Dracula was written by Stoker in 1946. The book is about a character called Jonathan Harker who sets out on a journey to seek Count Dracula and sell him a property, he is an estate agent. On his way, Harker writes a diary of all accounts on the journey to find Dracula and what happens to him. He describes strange incidences, especially when he is near Count Dracula's castle.

Harker is led to believe that the Count is completely harmless and just wants to buy a property. It turns out that Count Dracula is a vampire, who seeks revenge on Harker by getting close enough to him to find his wife, Mina. Harker soon realises that he's a prisoner in Dracula's castle. He is seduced by three female vampires, who are disregarded and told to leave him alone by the Count, which makes it obvious to Harker that he has other plans for him.

Meanwhile, back with Jonathan Harker's fiancé, Mina, strange things are happening. Mina is missing her fiancé terribly, but is kept busy by her friend Lucy, who has been proposed to by three men and is staying with Mina. Lucy and Mina are opposites in the way that Lucy is very open and sexual, and Mina is shy, prude and almost childlike. 

Lucy starts to sleepwalk, and act strangely. She begins to sleepwalk outside, and one night finds herself at the edge of a cliffside, to which Mina is very frightened about. She starts to feel weaker and weaker, eventually giving in to bed rest and seeking the help of Dr. Van Helsing, who is concerned for her wellbeing. She starts to get very unwell and eventually 'dies', however she doesn't die at all, but turns into a vampire. 

Van Helsing is aware of the transition and tells her fiancé, best friend Mina, and family that she is in fact 'un-dead', a term used for Vampires. The men seek to find her tombstone and find her so that they can kill her and she can rest in peace. When they find her however, she is missing from her grave, and found nearby with a small child clutched to her chest, whom she is feeding from. The group of men drive a wooden stake through her heart, chop off her head, and then follow on to stuff her head with garlic, just for good measure. After they kill Lucy, they plot to kill Dracula.

Back with Count Dracula and Jonathan Harker, Harker is going mentally insane and decides that he must leave the castle. With every door being guarded so that he can't leave, he decides to scale the side of the castle and almost plummets to his death. He manages to escape without injury and returns to his love, Mina. 

Whilst Harker was away, Mina is preyed on by Dracula. Upon his return, she starts the change slowly. Dracula flees, but the men pursue the Count and track him across land and sea. Van Helsing takes Mina with him, whilst they seal the entrance to Dracula's castle with sacred objects and kill the three vampires that seduced Harker at the beginning of the book. The other men then catch up with the Count as he reaches the castle, and drive a stake through his heart which destroys him.