Will I love Anno Dracula?

This is the first in a series of alternate history stories, set in 1888 (later volumes run right through the 20th century), in a world in which Count Dracula triumphed over his arch-enemy Professor Van Helsing. He’s now married to Queen Victoria and ruling over a London full of bloodsuckers!

A very clever idea which neatly ties in all sorts of vampire-related fictional strands.

I love that this book is set in an alternative Victorian-era Britain where vampires are citizens rubbing shoulders with humankind. At the heart of the book is the Jack the Ripper mystery with vampire, rather than human, prostitutes.

The crimes are investigated by Charles Beauregard, assisted by one of Newman’s original creations – a 400-year-old female vampire, Geneviève Dieudonné.

Along the way, the pair encounter other monsters – with humans as monstrous as the undead – as well as popular 19th-century literary figures and political events like the growth of communism/socialism.

I loved the main characters and unique… show more.

Set in 19th century England where vampires are a faction, not an underground coterie.

The alternate history sub-genre is a playground for subversion. I enjoy these stories if they’re strange enough. (Go big, because going small just makes the story seem Wrong.) Here, I loved the utter normality of vampires, the earliest book that latched on to this idea, I believe.

Also the (sometimes outrageous) twists to the Bram Stoker story, Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, Queen Victoria, and many more literary and historical threads. To help smooth the path, there are, delightfully, characters to believe in and care… show more.

Newman’s creative mashup brings a dizzying host of personalities into the Jack the Ripper murders as historical people and characters from fiction collide in Queen Victoria’s London. Vlad Tepes casts a long shadow across the political and social landscape. This take on Dracula himself, and other ancient vampires, is fresh and frightening and I was glad to discover it. The playful mix has Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade investigating The Ripper in a world where vampires are out in public, and Vlad is Prince Consort to Queen Victoria. The bold concept works well and is a ferociously fun… show more.