Dracula, by Bram Stoker (Norton, £6.95 in UK)

This is, of course, the centenary year of Bram Stoker's much printed novel, so new editions were only to be expected. This one is something special, however, a "critical edition" which includes much extra matter and background facts of all kinds and degrees of relevance. Some of this material is rather academically solemn stuff, bringing an apparatus of learning to bear on what was/is essentially a populist thriller or shocker. However, it is still interesting to learn what progeny Dracula has spawned, particularly in tends of screen and stage adaptations; and the novel's innate, macabre appeal seemingly lives on.