Originally published in 1897, “Dracula” is an epistolary work; composed of different sorts of texts like letters and journal entries, written by a multitude of characters. The novel begins with “Jonathan Harker”, a real estate worker, who travels from his home in London to the distant land of Transylvania to meet with “Count Dracula”, a client who wants to purchase a house in London.
The novel belongs to Gothic literature which uses terror as a plot device within a mystical setting or with supernatural elements at play to comment on social, political, and religious tensions (and anxieties) of a certain time period or community; even if this is done subtly. There is also usually a romance or romantic element involved.