There is a common misconception that the early critical reception of Bram Stoker's famed vampire novel, Dracula (1897), was "mixed." This reference book sets out to dispel this myth en force by offering the most exhaustive collection of early critical responses to Stoker's novel ever assembled, including some 91 reviews and reactions as well as 36 different press notices, many of which have not been seen in print since they appeared over 100 years ago. What these early critical responses reveal about Dracula's writing is that it was predominantly seen by early reviewers and responders to parallel, even supersede the Gothic horror works of such canonical writers as Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, and Edgar Allan Poe. Accompanying the critical responses are annotations and an introduction by the editor, a bibliographical afterword by J. Gordon Melton, 32 illustrations, and a bibliography.

Dr. Carol A. Senf, author of Bram Stoker (Gothic Authors: Critical Revisions) and The Critical Response to Bram Stoker, wrote:

• "Dryden said of The Canterbury Tales that "here is God's plenty," and one might say the same thing about Bram Stoker's Dracula: The Critical Feast. Browning has assembled an exhaustive collection of contemporary reviews of Dracula, reviews that put Stoker's novel into context and demonstrate its almost instantaneous popularity. In addition, The Critical Feast includes copies of early covers and photographs of Stoker. This is a book that every student of Dracula will be proud to own...and pore over, a feast for the eyes and for the mind."

Robert Eighteen-Bisang, author of Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula: A Facsimile Edition and Vintage Vampire Stories, wrote:

• "Dracula has become an icon of popular culture. Even children and people who have never read Bram Stoker's macabre masterpiece can identify Dracula as a 'vampire' from 'Transylvania.' John Edgar Browning has captured the spirit of the novel in 91 reviews that were published Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and the United States of America from May 27th 1897 to 1913, a year after Stoker' death. These reviews are as entertaining and informative today as they were more than a century ago when millions of people first learned about Count Dracula. Contrary to popular belief, Dracula has been a critically acclaimed phenomenon since it was first published in 1897. The reviewers' feelings of amazement, delight and disgust at what one writer called 'the very weirdest of weird tales' are enhanced by a scholarly introduction and dozens of footnotes."

Dr. Margaret L. Carter, author of The Vampire in Literature: A Critical Bibliography and Different Blood: The Vampire as Alien, wrote:

• "Both scholars and devoted fans will rejoice in Bram Stoker's Dracula: The Critical Feast. This exhaustive compilation fulfills a long-standing need in the realm of Dracula studies and provides a valuable fresh perspective on the early popular and critical reception of Stoker's masterpiece."

Dr. Elizabeth Miller, author of Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Documentary Journey into Vampire Country and the Dracula Phenomenon and Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula: A Facsimile Edition, wrote:

• "This meticulously researched book puts to rest misconceptions long held by many Dracula scholars (myself included) about the reception of Stoker's novel. A superb achievement and a scholar's delight!"