User talk:ImaginesTigers/sandbox

Hi, ImaginesTigers! I don't have much feedback at the moment; frankly, I didn't think I would have anything to add outside of plot info. But I do have access to some Dracula scholarship in the form of Lesley Klingers' Annotated Dracula (2006) and years of seeing Dracula scholar Elizabeth Miller complain on the Vampyres listserv about the erroneous conflation of Dracula with Vlad III and Elizabeth Bathory. So I will finally ante up and buy her Dracula Handbook (2005) to have as a reference. Watching with interest! If you'd rather talk elsewhere, just say so.---Femme du Pays (talk) 19:05, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

Here is good, Femme du Pays! I don't know if you've watched the page, but if you let me know, I won't ping you for future replies! My current thought is that, it’s looking likely that Influences might have to become a subheading, but I would prefer to resist that. We'll wait and see! RE: Miller, she writes very persuasively but (more crucially) she's a recognised expert in Dracula scholarship, so referring to her throughout seems judicious. I must be careful not to rely on her too much, though. A broad discussion is necessary for the article to be comprehensive, so I'm making sure on this first pass that I hit all the big heavyweights. I didn't know Miller had an active online presence, though.

I'm most dreading writing the Themes section of the article. Academia is, necessarily, conversational, and recursive; they can be quite hard to write concisely (I prefer critical histories, myself). But a book like this is going to get a lot of attention from secondary students who aren't at undergrad yet—I think it’s a good idea to write with them in mind :) — ImaginesTigers (talk) 20:24, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

I have Dracula and the Dracula Talk page on my watch list (as well as Count Dracula and a few other related pages) so I'll keep checking for pings there. It's been years since I was on the listserv, but I remember her rants well; she has a webpage at http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/ . Also on the Vampyres listserv was the Mad Bibliographer, Cathy Krusberg.

At the moment, my main WP project seems to be updating and correcting the Powers and Weaknesses section of the Count Dracula page, but I'm happy to pass on any info to you that might be useful. I'm more comfortable with smaller-scale revisions rather than grand plans. —Femme du Pays (talk) 20:56, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

@Femme du Pays: I did see that page, but it seems a bit crufty to me. I think a lot of the content is more suited to Fandom than Wikipedia (no offence intended—correct away, if it’s going to be there it may as well be accurate!). There's so much good information out there about his development and literary influence that could find its way in there. Unfortunately the link isn't working for me (is it just on my end?). I'm not familiar with Krusberg, but based on some Googling it doesn't seem like she's an academic? I think the article could be a fine FA candidate at some stage so I'd rather just limit the focus to critics/scholars/journalists.

I did consider making a character list, but if the plot summary is good enough, we shouldn't need one, I think, and I think the plot section is looking really strong, with your assistance! :) — ImaginesTigers (talk) 21:25, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

Point well taken about the cruftiness (new word for me!) of the area I was planning to revise. As a longtime vampophile and Dracula fan, the Powers and Weaknesses section covers things that even I had missed, so maybe that's a useful litmus test of things that easily can be edited out. Perhaps a better angle for the Powers and Weaknesses area would be to look at what Stoker introduced to the popular concept of vampires (shape changing, IIRC) and how the powers and weaknesses in the novel differ from major derivative works like the silent film Nosferatu and the Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee films (lethal sunlight is introduced in the movies).

PS If you want so see some of my Real World stuff, glance over the articles at www.northwestjournal.ca . Don't delay too long, though; we're not renewing the website & domain name so you will need to look on the Internet Archive starting Jan 22 or 23.--Femme du Pays (talk) 22:12, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

Oh, that is quite cool! I've heard about fur trade re-enactors, but I notice there's no Wiki page on it! But part of the reason you started that was because there was a lack of reliable sourcing, I see, so that becomes difficult. Cool effort, though, and I love the retro-website design. A shame it'll be going soon, but I understand that it might be different now, given Covid...

That's an incredible idea! It’s the kind of thing I'd love to get on the page, but I just can't because it'd become so large. There will be an influence section (as you can see), and if you are able to dig things up (I didn't know where the fatal sunlight was added), we could pool our resources? I'm a literary critic by training, but not a Dracula critical historian. I'm relying on reading very widely to tell me what opinions are frequently referenced (and what is bit more controversial). I do think it’s going well so far, but slower than anticipated because there's so much material, and checking who is reputable and who is a little more fringe (especially for a section like historical influences!) is bound to be controversial... — ImaginesTigers (talk) 22:29, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the kind words about the website. We're letting it lapse because we haven't been active in the hobby for quite a while. Frankly, in the wake of the Canadian Truth & Reconciliation report, I would have serious concerns about portraying a Métis woman as I used to, since I have no Indigenous heritage.

Getting back to Stoker and the Count: I'm not a literary critic by any stretch, but I enjoy historical research, so I'm happy to try and dig out info that you think may be helpful or useful. I have a copy of the 1920-something Deane and Balderston Dracula play that was said to be responsible for truly catapulting the character into popular culture. It might be helpful.—Femme du Pays (talk) 00:25, 19 January 2021 (UTC)