Continuing my recent practice of sharing my correspondence with visitors to the Ink Desk, I was intrigued to receive an e-mail from someone who is beginning to read Bram Stoker’s Dracula for the first time. Being a wise and discerning reader, he had selected the Ignatius Critical Edition of the novel but wondered whether he should read the introduction before or after reading the novel. He was concerned that the introduction would contain spoilers which would take away the joy of surprise in plot twists, which is part of the pleasure of reading a work for the first time. Here’s my reply:

There are two good ways of reading a work of literature, i.e. leisurely and objectively. Since you are reading Dracula leisurely, i.e. for the pure love of the thing without seeking to engage it on an academic or scholarly level (at least at this stage), I would advise that you not read the introduction first. You should simply enjoy the work as you see it subjectively and then, when you’re finished with the reading of it, you should test your subjective impressions in the light of the introduction and critical essays published in the Ignatius edition. In other words, read the novel first and then the introduction and other essays afterwards. 

As a couple of gentle pointers, Stoker was a believing Christian but not a Catholic. He seems to be simultaneously fascinated by, and ignorant of, Catholicism. As for the form of the book, its epistolary approach is somewhat loose and rambling. In my judgment, it would have benefited from some judicious editing prior to publication.