Seven years ago we all went through the flames. And the happiness of some of us since then is, we think, well worth the pain we endured. It is an added joy to Mina and to me that our boy's birthday is the same day as that on which Quincey Morris died. His mother holds, I know, the secret belief that some of our brave friend's spirit has passed into him. His bundle of names links all our little band of men together. But we call him Quincey.
In the summer of this year we made a journey to Transylvania, and went over the old ground which was, and is, to us so full of vivid and terrible memories. It was almost impossible to believe that the things which we had seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears were living truths. Every trace of all that had been was blotted out. The castle stood as before, reared high above a waste of desolation.
When we got home we were talking of the old time, which we could all look back on without despair, for Godalming and Seward are both happily married. I took the papers from the safe where they had been ever since our return so long ago. We were struck with the fact, that in all the mass of material of which the record is composed, there is hardly one authentic document. Nothing but a mass of typewriting, except the later notebooks of Mina and Seward and myself, and Van Helsing's memorandum. We could hardly ask any one, even did we wish to, to accept these as proofs of so wild a story. Van Helsing summed it all up as he said, with our boy on his knee.
"We want no proofs. We ask none to believe us! This boy will some day know what a brave and gallant woman his mother is. Already he knows her sweetness and loving care. Later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake."
JONATHAN HARKER
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36 comments:
Many thanks for the effort, it was such a great experience to read this book in such an original and modern way.
-as
Wow, sad to see its over, but I loved reading it "live" with you all.
Thank you for doing this! What a great way to experience a story.
Indeed, many thanks for the effort you put into this. Has been a great read.
Thank you so much.
This has been great. Sad to see Quincy go.
It really is amazing how restricting time impacts perception. For awhile, especially when Jonathon was in the castle and while the group was waiting at the pier. you could feel the tension of the wait grow more and more. Thanks.
As others have said - Thank you so much for doing this! This has been an amazing way to re-read this book and I truly appreciate your efforts.
Thank you! This was my first time reading Dracula, and I'm so glad that I read it this way.
I had never read this before, so reading it in realtime was quite suspensful. Thanks!
Thank you, Whitney.
Thanks, Whitney! I never thought I'd be proud to take six months to read a book, but you have made this experience memorable. I look forward to your next release.
I'd like to add my thanks to the others. Your efforts are appreciated!
Thanks so much - I loved checking in every day to see if there was any "news." I look forward to your next project
over already?!
The ending sure came upon us quickly! :o(
many thanks for putting this together for us!
Hey everyone, the characters from Dracula are continuing their stories on Twitter. Check it out at: http://twitter.com/Post_Dracula/post-dracula
Adding yet another thanks. I've been following along since the beginning and it was a great way to go through this story. Every day I'd wonder if there would be a new update. Thank you.
Although, wait... shouldn't you have waited seven years before posting the End Note? :-)
That was wonderful! I have to say I am sad that it's over.
Thank you so much.
Yay! Thank you!
This was a great way to experience this work again. Thank you.
Thanks for all your comments. This has been a great project, I really enjoyed reading the story with the imposed suspense and I found your interest, support and comments very rewarding.
I am taking suggestions for new projects. I'd like to continue this experiment, but I need some ideas. I'm having trouble finding an English translation of Dangerous Liasons that is public domain, so that one didn't start on schedule this year. I would LOVE any suggestions for other books they'd like to see in this format -- the requirements are simple: the format must be epistolary and it must be in the public domain. But all suggestions are appreciated and I can check out the format and legality.
Thanks again, everyone, for making this a rewarding new experience.
And yes, @Abulsme, I should have waited seven years to publish the end note... I just didn't have the discipline to wait!
Maybe next time you'll find the discipline. :-) Just so long as you don't pick a work that spans many decades to do next. :-)
Thank you so much. This has been quite a memorable experience. The suspense was worth the wait. At times, the anticipation made my head swim.
A thousand thank yous.
Thanks also from me.
It's always fun to imagine vampire 'fans' who haven't read Dracula reacting to the news that the Big Bad Ultimate Vamp himself was done in by a bowie knife.
thanks for the literary treat!
Thank you thank you thank you! What an amazing way to read a Classic! Just fantastic.
Didn't Jane Austen do an epistolary story?
i confess, i am a "vampire" fan, but i'm really glad to have read the ultimate vamp story--now i know the difference! i feel more rounded in my vampire reading now. :)
i also loved how virtue was so prized, and how the voluptuous and sensual were objects of fear and loathing. how differently the world views these qualities nowadays!
thank you for making this story so accessible. my three kids made it less likely that i would break down and buy the novel when it got tense waiting for the next installment, but i came close a couple times.
@Shawna,
Yes, Jane Austen did do an epistolary format book, Lady Susan, a compilation of correspondence. Unfortunately the letters are not specifically dated. I am trying to work out a historically accurate timeline, but I'm not sure how it will turn out or if it will work.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for this! I read the novel years ago, but I have a new appreciation for it in this format.
Thank you for doing this! I look forward to the next story.
I just wanted to add my thanks. This was a great thing to do, and as a first time reader of Dracula very effective.
Rachel
I first read Dracula many years ago, and had forgotten how powerful and interesting a story it was. This was a great job of telling one of the most horrifying tales in the English language. Well done, Whitney!
Thank-you. Twas lovely.
@Whitney
If you do another book, you should post a notice on this RSS feed. I, and I'm sure others, will leave the feed open and keep an eye out for the notice.
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