A Tale of Two Villains is a fascinating analysis of the similarities between the most famous horror story of them all, Dracula, and the biggest selling series of all time - the seven Happy Potter books. The author has previously published a biography of Bram Stoker, and has clearly done a lot of research on his life and influences. I haven’t read Dracula since I was a teenager, and have only read the Potter books once each, as they came out, but thanks to the movies and the stories’ omnipresence in popular culture, am very familiar with the characters and plots, so very much enjoyed this deep delve into the themes and symbolism that they share. I can’t imagine anyone picking this up who is not already a Potter fan, but do recommend also reading Dracula the novel before starting this, as the book is very different to the various cinematic and TV interpretations released over the years.

The title suggests that this is mostly about Dracula and Voldemort, but in fact the book compares all aspects of both fictional worlds. He notes that the books were published exactly one hundred years apart, but is careful never to suggest that JK Rowling did this deliberately, or to speculate whether any of the similarities are deliberate. Beginning with the characters, he shows the parallels between the works, linking amongst others, Jonathan Harker to Harry Potter, Mina Harker to Hermione, Renfrew to Wormtail, Van Helsing to Dumbledore, and of course Dracula to He Who Must Not Be Named. Cherry doesn’t limit himself to these worlds, either, expanding his thesis to include characters from Shakespeare to Star Wars to make his various points.

Part two examines the locations used in the books, geographical and specific, like castles and cemeteries - of note, this includes Highgate cemetery, a prominent site in Rowling aka Robert Galbraith’s current book, The Ink-Black Heart, which I’m part way through. Part three covers the themes the books share - good and evil, love and friendship, loss and death - obviously these are present in most successful novels - you could probably find just as many similarities in characters and themes in The Lord of the Rings, but part four, which explores the symbols common to both, has more specific examples - blood, immortality, scars… Certainly lots to think about. The final section was to me the least interesting, and felt like padding - somewhat irrelevant facts about all the other places outside of Britain mentioned in the books.

Overall, this was a careful, respectful and comprehensive comparison between two works which seem superficially very different. Like most people, I suspect, I had never picked up on any of the connections he exposes, but Cherry’s arguments are convincing. Is it because the traits and tropes are universal, or that Rowling’s subconscious incorporated them into her first book, or whether it was all done as a well concealed but knowing homage to the “biggest selling book in the world after the bible” (as the author claims in his introduction - neither I nor Google think this is true, although perhaps it was at the time?) There are extensive quotes to support his theories, throughout the book - some repeated in different chapters. Some of the writing is a bit garbled/odd, there are some modern phrases and jarring Americanisms that seem out of place in a serious literary analysis, and I could’ve done without the religious commentary that peppers the text, but overall I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it to any fans of the books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gaudium Publishing for the ARC, I am posting this honest review voluntarily. A Tale of Two Villains is published on October 18th.

Even if the title refers to the villains, this volume is really about the universes created by two remarkable English writers separated by a century. Arguably, Dracula is the star of his novel while the Harry Potter series focuses on “the boy who lived.” Still, I’m a Potterhead and wrote my college dissertation on Dracula and I’d never realized that they were both so similar. The author analyzes not only the Count and Voldemort, but also the heroes, settings, sidekicks and the symbolism of both works and they have so much in common. The style is approachable and is peppered with passages taken directly from the books. The author also shows a deep understanding of the historical circumstances in which Stoker wrote his novel (most readers will be familiar with Rowling’s). Mostly, the love and admiration that Cherry has for these books is evident and, since anyone reading this volume presumably shares that trait, it is an enjoyable read. Hufflepuff would be proud.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Independent Publishers Group, Gaudium Publishing!

This volume is a must-have for any Dracula and Harry Potter fan. There are pieces of symbolism that many people wouldn't have even thought about, such as the similarity between Harry Potter and Jonathan Harker, between Van Helsing and Dumbledore, and between Mina and Hermione. It might sound odd at first, but the author has a way of explaining his ideas that readers will have a hard time not seeing the connection. Not only that, but the author presents very convincing similarities between locations and themes. The book is a welcome piece of comparative literature that J.K Rowling herself should take a look at.