Anno Dracula

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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.

Plot summary

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, an elder French vampire (a similar version of Dieudonné appeared in Newman's trilogy of novels, written under the pseudonym Jack Yeovil, for the Warhammer Fantasy universe).

Synopsis

The novel deviates from the events of

Beauregard is abducted by an old enemy, a Tong leader who calls a truce on the understanding that the London underworld also has a strong interest in Silver Knife's capture. His official duties also open a rift between him and his fiancée, Penelope Churchward (a cousin of his deceased first wife). In her zeal for social climbing, Penny also urges Beauregard to agree that both of them will become vampires after their marriage.

Jack the Ripper strikes twice, failing to destroy one of his victims,

Beauregard soon understands what this means when he and Dieudonné are invited to Buckingham Palace to be officially thanked by Queen Victoria for their role in catching the Ripper. Inside the palace, the two lovers confront Count Dracula, holding the turned Victoria as a prisoner. Knowing that neither of them can defeat Dracula in direct combat, Beauregard slips Seward's silver scalpel to Victoria, allowing her to kill herself, thus depriving Dracula of his status as Prince Consort and his legal authority over Great Britain. Before the vampires can retaliate, a riot breaks loose outside the Palace – possibly orchestrated by the Club - and spills inside, allowing Beauregard and Dieudonné to escape and forcing Dracula to flee the country.

Characters

Count Dracula

Queen Victoria

Jack the Ripper

Mycroft Holmes

Some of the main characters used in Anno Dracula

Newman incorporated numerous figures from popular fiction (due to the historical period, many are from works in the public domain).

Main characters

Minor characters

The following characters are only mentioned, or appear only briefly in the novel.

From literature

From film or television

Historical people mentioned or appearing as characters

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).

David Krugman of The Telegraph said that the book did not have several scares but also mentioned that it is well-written and well-plotted.^[2] Milo of The Guardian also noted the book's plot and its well-thought twists.^[3] CT Phipps of Grimdark Magazine observed the novel's atmosphere and compared its grimdark setting with the works of Alan Moore.^[4]

References