Bram Stoker

Alissa Rindels

Paul-Thomas Ferguson

Since its publication in 1897, Bram Stoker's Dracula has been one of the most influential works of horror fiction in the Western canon, sharing a spot on the pedestal with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818). Dracula's broad appeal stems in part from its ability to fit within several different literary subgenres. In addition to horror, it works well as Gothic romance, melodrama, invasion literature and, of course, vampire fiction. Stoker did not originate the themes that individually qualify Dracula for these categories, but he did combine them in a unique way, creating a work that continues to resonate more than one hundred years later.

Dracula

Oscar Wilde

Paul-thomas Ferguson

Wilde drew inspiration for this tale from an 1884 visit to an eccentric artist,as well as from the legends of Narcissus and Faust. The resulting novella is anenthralling character study that blends a discussion of the merits of artwith that brand of parodying critique of Victorian society for which Wildewould become famous. In the process, The Picture of Dorian Gray examinesthe moral implications of valuing physical beauty over all else.

Alissa Rindels

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