I read Dracula every few years. In fact, for my money, none of the many Dracula movies quite measures up to the book–although Christopher Lee’s portrayals of the monster will go down in history.
The last time I read Dracula, I was amazed by the things author Bram Stoker can get away with. Great heaping dollops of Victorian schmaltz. It should be unreadable, but it isn’t. In fact, the somewhat strange literary style adds, rather than detracts, to a sensation of being in the attic of a deserted house, all dry and musty, and suddenly thinking you hear someone else, who’s not supposed to be there, coming up the stairs…
I’ve never read Dracula nor saw Christopher Lee as Dracula before, but he’s my favorite actor!
Without the background noise (“music”)?
I read where the historical figure Stoker used as inspiration for his famous novel was Vlad the Impaler. He ruled his domain with such a strong hand that he could leave a pure gold cup by the public water hole knowing no one would dare to try and steal it.
But all things considered, not exactly a role model.