Nationalistic Contagion in Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker’s Dracul:

or, “the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck”

Abstract

Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker’s prequel/biofiction Dracul (2018) not only rewrites Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897) but also inverts the relationship between foreignness and contagion. By reimagining Bram Stoker’s early childhood sickness, and fictionalising a relationship with his nanny Ellen Crone, Dracul portrays contagion as an inherently localised, isolating issue, and suggests the possibility of treatment and the development of a cure as a direct result of globalism, personified in the character of Crone. Unlike other Stoker biofictions, including Dacre Stoker’s sequel Dracula: The Un-Dead (2009), which reinforce fear of reverse colonisation in Stoker’s source text, Dracul posits a direct correlation between global interconnectedness and remedy. This inverted relationship is particularly resonant in relation to the isolationist rhetoric that emerged during the 2020-2023 COVID-19 pandemic.