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Constable & Robinson, the original publisher of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is set to release a special edition of the book on the anniversary of the author’s death in April.
The new version is reproduced using the exact dimensions and the same font that was used in the first edition—which was published by C&R in 1897—and also includes a copy of the Irish author’s original contract with the publisher.
Author Colm Tóibín has written an “extensive” introduction to the book, which has a simple yellow cover featuring blood-red text. C&R said it would be sold through all bookshops and online retail channels, priced at £50. The publisher has a 1,000-copy first-print run.
C&R publisher James Gurbutt said: “It is a beautiful edition. We went to the British Library to ensure we used all the same font and measurements as the original book. The contract we have reproduced is very interesting—it reveals that Stoker received 30% royalties, which I think was probably standard for the time.”
He added: “There is a move into making books more beautiful at the moment and that is what we have done with this. The edition will be available as an e-book of course, but it won’t be quite the same.”
Stoker’s novel—which has been credited with contributing largely to the modern conception of a vampire that prevails in literature and film—charts Count Dracula’s relocation from Transylvania to London, as he preys upon solicitor Jonathan Harker’s fiancée Mina and her friend Lucy Westenra.
Stoker was a business manager for the Lyceum Theatre in London, where he supplemented his wage by writing. His first novel, The Snake’s Pass, was published in 1890.