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Dracula, a Gothic novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897, is derived from old vampire legends and is the basis for an entire genre of literature and film. Dracula, the archetypal vampire, is depicted in the novel as having been the origin of the many werewolf legends. The willowy count is believed to have been inspired by the 15th-century Vlad the Impaler, and by Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker was a personal assistant. One of Dracula’s most iconic powers is his ability to turn others into vampires by biting them and thus infecting them with the vampiric disease. Stoker’s novel takes the form of an epistolary tale, in which Count Dracula’s characteristics, powers are narrated by multiple narrators. Count Dracula is an undead, centuries-old vampire, and Transylvanian nobleman descended from Attila the Hun. He inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. Dracula is devilishly handsome and charismatic, with a veneer of dark aristocratic charm. Likewise, he possesses supernatural abilities gained through his intimate dealings with the Devil. Dracula does not cast a shadow or reflect in mirrors. He can defy gravity and possesses superhuman agility, able to climb vertical surfaces upside down. In the novel he also has great hypnotic, telepathic and illusionary powers. This is the rare, long lost original 1897 manuscript – published here for the first time.

“There is a reason why all things are as they are.” Dracula author Bram Stoker was born on November 8, 1847 in Dublin. Stoker was bedridden with an unknown illness until he started school at the age of seven when he made a complete recovery. Of this time, Stoker wrote, “I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years.” He was educated in a private school run by the Reverend William Woods. Stoker visited the English coastal town of Whitby in 1890, and that visit was said to be part of the inspiration for Dracula. He began writing novels while working as the manager for London’s Lyceum Theatre, beginning with The Snake’s Pass in 1890 and Dracula in 1897. Stoker was part of the literary staff of The Daily Telegraph in London, and he wrote other fiction, including the horror novels The Lady of the Shroud (1909) and The Lair of the White Worm (1911). Dracula is an epistolary novel, written as a collection of realistic but completely fictional diary entries, telegrams, letters, ship’s logs, and newspaper clippings, all of which added a level of detailed realism to the story, a skill which Stoker had developed as a newspaper writer. At the time of its publication, Dracula was considered a “straightforward horror novel” based on imaginary creations of supernatural life. “It gave form to a universal fantasy and became a part of popular culture.

Meher Baba, born Merwan Sheriar Iran on February 25, 1894 was a beloved Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar or God in human form. When he was nineteen he contacted five spiritual teachers before beginning his own mission and gathering his own disciples in early 1922, at the age of twenty seven. From July 1925 to the end of his life Baba maintained silence, communicating by means of an alphabet board or by unique hand gestures. In 1931, Meher Baba made the first of many visits to the West, where he attracted many dedicated followers. Meher Baba continued what he called his “Universal Work”, which included fasting and seclusion, until his death on January 31,1969. His samadhi in Meherabad, India, has become a place of international pilgrimage.

Geoffrey Giuliano was Paul McCartney’s first biographer in the classic book, ‘Blackbird’ having unique access to both the former Beatle himself, his charming wife Linda and family – including brother Mike McCartney, sister Ruth and step mom Angie among many others close to the legend. In this unique, one-of-a-kind audio archive of interviews and thoughts about the unbelievably talented, driven, inventive star, actor author narrator Geoffrey Giuliano creates an indelible portrait of the greatest musical legend of our time. An absolute audiobook must have for any committed Beatle fan, popular music historian, casual listener, curious commuter and all school and university systems. Ladies and gentlemen at last – the real Paul McCartney.

Don Quixote is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. A founding work of Western literature, it is often labeled as the first modern novel and is considered one of the greatest works ever written Don Quixote also holds the distinction of being one of the most-translated books in the world.

The plot revolves around the adventures of a noble from La Mancha named Alonso Quixano, who reads so many chivalric romances that he loses his mind and decides to become a knight-errant (caballero andante) to revive chivalry and serve his nation, under the name Don Quixote de la Mancha. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who often employs a unique, earthy wit in dealing with Don Quixote’s rhetorical monologues on knighthood, already considered old-fashioned at the time. Don Quixote, in the first part of the book, does not see the world for what it is and prefers to imagine that he is living out a knightly story.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born 29 September 1547 was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world’s pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his novel Don Quixote, a work often cited as both the first modern novel and one of the pinnacles of world literature. Much of his life was spent in poverty and obscurity, many of its details are disputed or unknown, and the bulk of his surviving work was produced in the three years preceding his death. Despite this, his influence and literary contribution are reflected by the fact that Spanish is often referred to as “the language of Cervantes”.An incident in the story of Don Quixote (1870), by English painter Robert Hillingford, depicts a scene from Cervantes’ magnum opus. In 1569, Cervantes was forced to leave Spain and moved to Rome, where he worked in the household of a cardinal. In 1570, he enlisted in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and was badly wounded at the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571. He served as a soldier until 1575, when he was captured by Barbary pirates; after five years in captivity, he was ransomed and returned to Madrid. His first significant novel, titled La Galatea, was published in 1585, but he continued to work as a purchasing agent, then later a government tax collector.

Don Juan in Hell is an excerpt (Act 3, Scene 2) from George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman. It is often performed as a stand-alone play. In it, three characters from Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Don Juan, Dona Ana, and the statue of the Commendatore, Dona Ana’s father) meet in Hell and, joined by the Devil, have a philosophical debate on a variety of subjects, including Heaven and Hell, men, women and marriage. In the end, they all decide where they will spend eternity.

Charles Dickens the author of Dombey and Son, originally wrote the book in installments which were published from October 1846 to April 1848 under the title Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation. The story centers around Paul Dombey, the stern owner of the Firm. He is totally immersed in having his newly born son continue the business, and entirely neglects his daughter Florence. Tragedy occurs, and Florence’s plight worsens. As the years go by, Mr. Dombey sees to it that the man she loves, his employee, is sent far away. Mr Dombey remarries, but his marriage is eventually destroyed, his fortune gone, he becomes destitute. Finally he accepts help from his daughter, and life changes for him. Many wonderful characters interweave the tale, as in all Dickens literary masterpieces.