Into the Archive: Two from the Public Library Bookstore

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain (Modern Library Classics)

Fashioned from the same experiences that would inspire the masterpiece Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi is Mark Twain’s most brilliant and most personal nonfiction work. It is at once an affectionate evocation of the vital river life in the steamboat era and a melancholy reminiscence of its passing after the Civil War, a priceless collection of humorous anecdotes and folktales, and a unique glimpse into Twain’s life before he began to write. – Abe Books (Modern Library Classics)

In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires by Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally (1994, Robson Books) 

Until recently most people thought Dracula was a creation of film & fiction. With the original publication of In Search of Dracula, the actual historical figure of Prince Vlad of Transylvania--better known as Vlad the Impaler--was rediscovered, & readers were introduced to one of the darkest figures of Eastern European history & folklore. Out of print for more than a decade, In Search of Dracula has now been completely rewritten & updated. This new edition includes entries from Bram Stoker's newly discovered diaries, the amazing tale of Nicolae Ceausescu's attempt to make Vlad a Romanian national hero, & a comprehensive examination of recent adaptations of the Dracula story in novels, on stage & on screen. For a member of the undead, Dracula has enjoyed a vibrant & ubiquitous life for the past century. Even more enduring & powerful a creation than Sherlock Holmes--with whom he shares similar late-Victorian popular literary origins--the Count continues to fascinate with his distinctive mixture of blood, sex & death. – Amazon

 

Since I’d been planning to walk down to the public library bookstore for a while (I actually had some cash in hand from my items in my sister’s garage sale), I figured today would be the day to do it while it was still a little cool from Wednesday’s rain. Accordingly, I set out at 9:30 AM and was back by 10:45 AM, just when it was getting to be 80 degrees. The coolth was over.

I was kind of surprised by that Twain book (it looked a lot like the cover I chose to illustrate my diary entry when I was reading it on Kindle, but it’s not), but I thought that coincidence and my recent engagement with Twain was enough of a sign to get it. And it was only $3. He’s always a good summer read.

So are vampires. I had read the paperback edition of In Search of Dracula long ago in the day but had since given it back to John to be in his horror archive. The allure of this updated (1994) softcover edition at $2 made it an easy buy. I feel the need to stock up on culture before society crumbles. I mean crumbles any more.