"A cracking adventure story that is a real Gothic delight!"
September 2025 Book of the Month
A new story from the Queen of Historical Fiction is always eagerly anticipated, but this offers something a bit different for her many fans. Like me, I am sure they will be swept away and thoroughly fascinated by this tale, which puts a unique spin on vampire mythology and, in the process, transforms the genre into an entirely age-appropriate middle grade adventure, with huge appeal to fans of mild horror stories like Jennifer Killick’s Dread Wood series. It also has loads of potential to appeal to older readers who will enjoy the clever use of familiar names from traditional vampire tales and even TV series. For example, the three young girls at the centre of the tale are called Bella, Buffy, who has a fabulous pet raven called Poe, and Mina.
The story opens with the strange death of the popular star, Elsie Irving, on the stage of the Lyceum Theatre in Temstown, a city which is ruled by the Guildmaster, Mr Montagu Helsing, with its rules and laws, including the eating of garlic, spreading salt and carrying silver, devised to prevent Contagion starting again. It is twenty-five years since the last outbreak of vampirism, but everything is about to change as Mina, our narrator, discovers. She has impulsively set out to rob Elsie’s grave. She believes presenting her boss, Dr Polidori, with a real corpse is the only way to get him to allow her to attend the dissection and the full medical training she craves.
There is a very compelling strand of feminism running throughout the story. Women have historically been barred from sciences and the professions, which makes Beatrix Drake, Temstown’s most successful undertaker, even more remarkable. It is her daughter Bella who discovers, alongside Mina, that Elsie has escaped her grave and a new vampire is on the loose.
During this dramatic evening Mina discovers Bella is her cousin and that they share a family secret and have special powers as half-vampires or dhampirs. Together with little sister Buffy they are determined to find and stop Elsie before the next full moon which will spread the infection exponentially.
The discovery of a way to heal rather than slay vampires, in an old neglected medical textbook written by Professor Lucy Westenra, could help save their friend Varney, the first of Elsie’s victims.
This is thoroughly convincing vampiric theory, and the redoubtable trio of girls soon realise the power of collaboration and working together, which is a lovely positive message to convey. Family and friendship are at the heart of this fabulously atmospheric, tense and highly recommended story which will have readers queueing up for the next instalment.
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Emma Carroll has done it again. Remaking vampire lore for a younger, modern audience. Full of atmosphere and mystery, this is a must for any burgeoning vampire fan with plenty of allusions to vampire staples through character names and references.
Full of gothic atmosphere and mystery, Emma Carroll has created a modern vampire tale for a younger audience. She has reimagined traditional vampire lore for the younger generation. This is a winner for both vampire and mystery fans with a strong female cast that are immediately likeable and charismatic. With the promise of more to come, Dracula and Daughters will surely grace many bookshelves in the coming years.
Suitable for upper KS2 and KS3 children as well as older readers who are kept alert through the many allusions to traditional vampire literature and plot twists.... Read Full Review
