The location of Count Dracula's home was apparently Germany in Stoker's earliest version of his plan. He moved the infamous castle to Styria, a province of Hungary, and thence to Transylvania, providing that otherwise little known region with worldwide fame. The great anti-hero himself was originally described only as a dead old man, brought back to life. Then as Count (blank), then Wampyr, and finally Dracula.

Characters and scenes appear and transform and disappear from the book as it continues to evolve. There are werewolves in the story, then there are no werewolves. There is a fabulous dinner party for thirteen bizarre storytellers including Dracula himself. The incident mimics the Biblical Last Supper, with Dracula playing the role of the Anti-Christ. The scene does not appear in the novel, although it was restored in at least one filmed version, long after Stoker's death. Was it ever drafted and discarded, or did Stoker decide to omit it before he wrote the book?

On and on the tale evolves, with Stoker's handwritten notes and later his typewritten pages carrying us ever closer to the completion of what has to be recognized as the greatest horror novel ever written. Stoker was a fairly prolific author. He published a dozen novels, most of them of a fantastic nature, as well as dozens of short stories and several works of nonfiction. But of course Dracula was his masterpiece. It is immortal.

The editors of the present volume found the treasure of Stoker's notes in the suggestively named Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia. From there they traced the odyssey of the notes back to their sale by Stoker's widow, Florence, in 1913, for two pounds two shillings. Roughly twelve dollars. Today, they are priceless.

This excellent book also contains period photographs (including one of the Lyeceum Theatre) and documents, essays and appendices that make endless fascinating reading. The book is a treasure and a joy.

One word of warning. You may "know" Dracula through the endless adaptations of the novel that have appeared over the years since it first publication. There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of stage plays, motion pictures, radio and televisions series, comic books and other versions of the story. My little grandson, not yet four years of age, is thoroughly familiar with the cuddly Count Von Count, a recurring character on Sesame Street. My own favorites are the silent Nosferatu (1922), dir. F. W. Murnau, with Max Schreck, Dracula (1931), dir. Tod Browning, with Bela Lugosi, and The Horror of Dracula (1958), dir. Terence Fisher, with Christopher Lee. But there are plenty of others to choose from. I imagine you could watch a Dracula motion picture every night for years on end, before moving on to TV series like Dark Shadows or Angel.

And of course, in addition to the direct adaptations of Dracula there are the endless run of more or less Dracula-esque vampire novels, from Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot (1975) to Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire (1976) to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight (2005). Stoker was not the first author to write a vampire novel, but Dracula set the standard for the genre, and no other vampire novel -- or movie or comic book or role-playing game -- can ever or will ever surpass it as the definitive work in the field.

But -- and here's the big but -- you don't really know Dracula unless you've read Stoker's novel. And it is a gripping, thrilling, even frightening novel still. It remains in print in languages around the world in editions ranging from inexpensive paperbacks to deluxe collector-oriented volumes beautifully printed on fine vellum and bound in luxuriant gold-stamped covers. You can get it as audio if that's your preference, or download it free from several internet sites. You're wasting your time if you even try to read Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula without first reading the novel itself. But believe me, if you have read and loved this book, you will enjoy the Notes endlessly and you will understand and appreciate Stoker's great achievement even more.