Dracula

The most famous vampire story ever written, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) has enthralled generations of readers as completely as Count Dracula enthrals his victims.

Though Stoker did not invent vampires - and in fact based his character's life-in-death on extensive research into European folklore - his novel elevated the nocturnal monster to iconic stature, spawning a genre of stories and movies which flourishes to this day. A century of imitation has done nothing to diminish its power. As the suave and chilling Count stalks his prey from a crumbling castle in the Carpathians to a lunatic asylum in Purfleet and the bedrooms of his swooning female victims, the drama builds to a fever pitch of sensuality and suspense.

Dracula is not only a classic of Gothic horror and a wellspring of modern mythology: it is also irresistible entertainment.