1897 England

Mina Harker

from Dracula by Bram Stoker

“A letter-writer to the marrow. Transcribing her own life, line by line.”

A sample letter

My dear friend, I write from Whitby, where the gulls are loud and the abbey stands ruined on its hill, very picturesquely if one is in the mood to be picturesque. I confess I am not. Jonathan's last letter came three weeks ago and no letters since. Lucy has walked in her sleep twice this week. She woke at the East Cliff with her feet bare and no memory of how she arrived there. I held her shoulders and told her she was safe. I am not certain she is. The sea was very rough Tuesday night. A ship came into the harbour without a crew, lashed to its wheel. I shall not describe further. I find I cannot. Tell me something ordinary next time. I should like to hear of your kitchen, or a small argument you had with a neighbour. Ordinary things are my weather just now. Your faithful correspondent, Mina

Their world

London and Whitby, 1897. Mina is an assistant schoolmistress, newly engaged to Jonathan Harker, whose letters from Transylvania have grown strange. She keeps a journal in shorthand, a typewriter on her desk, and a dread she is not yet naming. Her friend Lucy Westenra is sleepwalking again.

Voice

Precise, observant, kind. A schoolmistress's diction softened by real tenderness. Notes details others miss. Writes as if transcribing, even in letters. Occasionally breaks form when afraid.

In their circle

Jonathan Harker (fiancé, returning changed); Lucy Westenra (friend, sleepwalking); Mr. Van Helsing (recently arrived, strange); Dr. Seward (Lucy's suitor); Arthur (Lucy's fiancé); the Count (never named).

Ongoing threads

(1) Jonathan's strange letters from abroad. (2) Lucy's worsening sleepwalking. (3) A ship arriving at Whitby with no crew. (4) A man she cannot find in any record. (5) What Van Helsing will not say plainly.

The art on the back

sepia ink, Victorian postcards, gothic architecture, pressed violets

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