Episode 296: Best of Series – Introduction to "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, Ch. 1-2
The Literary Life Podcast
Angelina Stanford
4.7 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 September 2025
⏱️ 88 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this week's episode of The Literary Life Podcast, Angelina Stanford is joined as always by Thomas Banks and Cindy Rollins for the opening of their series on Bram Stoker's Dracula. Today our hosts focus on the background and historical context for this piece of literature, as well as going over the highlights of the first two chapters. They talk about the question of the role of the monster in literature in modernity versus its historical interpretation. Understanding the form of the Gothic novel and the time period in which this book was written are important aspects of approaching Dracula.
Keep listening next week for more about how to read this book. We will be covering chapters 3-7.
To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/296.
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We are excited to announce this coming year's annual Literary Life Online Conference, happening January 23-30, 2026, "The Letter Killeth, but the Spirit Quickeneth: Reading Like a Human". Our speakers will be Dr. Jason Baxter, Jenn Rogers, Dr. Anne Phillips, and, of course, Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Literary Life Podcast. |
| 0:02.9 | We've grown quite significantly since our debut in 2019, |
| 0:07.2 | and we've had many requests to highlight older episodes that new listeners may have missed, |
| 0:12.8 | as well as revisit listener favorites. |
| 0:15.2 | To honor that request, I present to you this episode of the best of the Literary Life podcast. |
| 0:21.6 | This is not just another book chat podcast. |
| 0:25.6 | Lifelong reader Cindy Rawlins joins teachers Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks |
| 0:30.6 | for an ongoing conversation about the skill and art of reading well. |
| 0:35.6 | Explore the lost intellectual tradition and discover how to fully enter end to the great works of literature. |
| 0:43.3 | Learn what books mean while delighting in the sheer joy of imagination. |
| 0:48.3 | Each week we will rescue story from the ivory tower and bring it to your couch, your kitchen, and your commute. |
| 0:56.0 | The literary life is for everyone because in the words of Stratford Caldecott, |
| 1:00.0 | to be enchanted by story is to be granted a deeper insight into reality. |
| 1:06.0 | Join us for an ever-unfolding discussion of how stories will save the world. |
| 1:12.0 | This is the Literary Life podcast. |
| 1:35.3 | Today we are going to launch a series on Bram Stoker's Dracula and I am so excited about. |
| 1:42.1 | So joining me today are always my two partners in crime, but hopefully not |
| 1:46.3 | supernatural crime. I've got the mysterious Mr. Banks here. Hello, Mr. Banks. Ms. Stanford. |
| 1:52.8 | We'll see which of the men in this book. I'll nickname you. His face. You'll find out why his face, because he's so afraid I'm going to call him |
| 2:03.6 | Jonathan Harker, but that will make sense once we get into the book because he and I have been |
| 2:07.1 | discussing Jonathan Hark. He doesn't want to be Jonathan. And we also have with us fresh from her |
| 2:13.8 | European jaunt, Cindy Rollins. And Cindy, I'm hoping you're going to be able to |
... |
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