Dracula in Istanbul: The Unauthorized Version of the Gothic Classic, Paperback

For the first time in English comes a remarkable literary discovery. In 1928, Turkish author Ali Rıza Seyfioğlu pirated Bram Stoker's Dracula, completely rewriting it with new material, patriotic overtones, and Islam. A rare example of a "bootleg" novel, it's also the first adaptation to plainly identify Dracula as the historical warlord Vlad the Impaler.

In Seyfioğlu's story, when a modern Istanbul is threatened by the invasion of an ancient vampire, three veterans of the Turkish War of Independence are thrust into a conflict with their nation's hereditary enemy. Seyfioğlu boldly reworks Stoker's classic tale, retelling it from the unique perspective of a people once routed by the real-life Dracula.

Dracula in Istanbul: The Unauthorized Version of the Gothic Classic presents the first ever translation into English of Seyfioğlu's novel, Kazıklı Voyvoda. With a foreword by Anno Dracula author Kim Newman, an introduction by Turkish translation scholar Şehnaz Tahir G r ağlar, an afterword on the 1953 movie adaptation Drakula İstanbul'da by film scholar Iain Robert Smith, and several rare photos from the film, Dracula in Istanbul is a rare combination of literary artifact and genuine entertainment. From movie and vampire buffs to literature scholars, there's enough here to delight all the children of the night.