Under the Sunset

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Word count: 68 words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Under the Sunset is a short-story collection by the Irish writer Bram Stoker, published in 1881 and the first work he published. It consists of eight uncanny tales in a fairy-tale shell, all set around an imaginary land called the "Land of the Sunset": it lies at the far edge of the sky where day and night alternate, with a king and queen, rich and poor, and houses, fields, birdsong and flowers, where the children are no different from us and their beating hearts know both sorrow and joy; angels lead people there in dreams. Yet once sin enters this paradise, its beauty begins to crack. The eight stories unfold in this land both gentle and shadowy: mad numbers, a poet seeking his dead wife, a prince kinder than Snow White, an invisible giant, a craftsman who makes people from shadows, and lies and lilies, the king's castle and a wondrous little baby. Stoker had not yet written Dracula, but the taste for wrapping the dark side in gorgeous fantasy, for telling of death and temptation in a fairy-tale tone, is already clearly visible. The book occupies a place in fantasy literature that cannot be ignored, fully displaying Stoker's ability to shape stories and build images; one of the tales, The Shadow Builder, was adapted into a film in 1998. The stories seem absurd and illogical yet are steeped in the ink of truth, combining emotion and reason, delight and moral instruction, suited to children and adults alike.

Editor's review

提起布莱姆·斯托克，多数人想到的是《德古拉》与「吸血鬼之父」。而《夕阳之下》恰恰是他写作生涯的起点：一部写给孩子的、却让成年人读来后背发凉的童话集。它证明了斯托克的恐怖并不依赖獠牙与血，而是来自世界秩序本身的松动——乐土里为什么会进来罪恶？影子为什么能造出人来？数字为什么会发疯？这些问题在童话的糖衣下被轻轻递出，甜味过后留下的是漫长的凉意。八篇故事篇幅短小、意象鲜明，适合睡前读一篇，也适合一口气读完再做一晚怪梦。对研究者而言，本书是观察斯托克日后哥特意象——影子、城堡、异乡的乐土、被诱惑的纯真——如何成形的一份珍贵底稿；对普通读者而言，它更像一本「成人的晚安故事」：温柔，但并不可靠。中信版译文保留了原作的叙述口吻与童话节奏，篇幅轻便，入门斯托克或收藏其另类一面，都值得一读。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢爱伦·坡、王尔德童话与哥特幻想文学的读者
读过《德古拉》、想追溯斯托克早期写作面貌的书迷
为孩子寻找「不那么甜」的睡前故事的家长
喜欢短篇、偏好意象与氛围而非情节强度的读者
研究19世纪英语幻想文学与童话传统的爱好者

Not a good fit for

期待看到吸血鬼、狼人类型恐怖场面的读者
希望读到长篇完整叙事、不喜欢短篇集结构的人
年纪过小、对死亡与阴影意象较敏感的儿童

Reading tips

按目录顺序通读，先读同名开篇《夕阳之下》，建立「夕阳之国」的世界设定。
把《制造影子的人》《国王的城堡》放在一起读，体会斯托克对影子与城堡意象的偏爱。
读时可留意「善良的王子」「发疯的数字」等荒诞设定背后的道德寓言意味。
读完后对照《德古拉》，看哪些意象与手法在此已初具雏形。

About the publisher

CITIC Press China · Founded in 1988

Founded in 1988 and affiliated with China CITIC Group, CITIC Press focuses on business and economics, social sciences, literature and children's books, with common categories covering social sciences, finance, literature, Eastern philosophy and literary appreciation. Its library holds 91 titles, including Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens trilogy, Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Wu Xiaobo's Thirty Years of Strife: Chinese Enterprises 1978–2008, Nelly Sachs's The Weight of Butterflies: Selected Poems of Nelly Sachs, as well as New Interpretations of the Analects and Chiang Hsun's lectures on Dream of the Red Chamber. Its authors and translators include Lin Junhong, Ba Shusong, Chen Li and Chang Fen-ling. Overall, the press introduces influential works in finance and social sciences while balancing classic translation and local appreciation in literature and Eastern philosophy, combining academic depth with accessible reading.

Under the Setting Sun
The Rose Prince
The Invisible Giant
The Man Who Made Shadows
Why 7 Went Mad
Lies and Lilies
The King's Castle
The Wondrous Little Baby

FAQ

《夕阳之下》是恐怖小说吗？

不是典型的恐怖小说。它是斯托克1881年出版的八篇怪诞童话，氛围阴翳、意象诡异，但没有血腥场面，更接近「暗黑童话」或幻想寓言，适合成人也适合较大的孩子阅读。

这本书和《德古拉》有什么关系？

《夕阳之下》是斯托克出版的第一部书，早于《德古拉》十余年。它虽无吸血鬼，但影子、城堡、乐土被侵蚀等意象与手法，可见其哥特趣味的最初形态。

全书包含哪些故事？

共八篇：同名开篇《夕阳之下》，以及《玫瑰王子》《看不见的巨人》《制造影子的人》《7为什么疯了》《谎言与百合》《国王的城堡》《神奇的小婴儿》。

适合给孩子读吗？

文本本身面向童话读者，故事不长、情节清晰，但涉及死亡、罪恶与阴影等主题，建议由家长陪伴或先自行通读，再按孩子的接受程度挑选篇目。

《制造影子的人》被改编成过电影吗？

据资料记载，The Shadow Builder 一篇曾于1998年被改编为电影。阅读时不妨把它当作全书最具影像感的一篇来体会。

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About the author

布莱姆·斯托克 Author

Bram Stoker was an Irish author best known for his Gothic horror fiction, and his masterpiece Dracula created one of the most influential vampire figures in literary history. Four of his works are included here, comprising Dracula and different versions of The Count of Dracula, including an English-language original edition. Classified under foreign literature and fine fiction, these works reveal the core of Stoker's writing: narrative through multiple perspectives such as letters and diaries, an atmosphere of suspense and gloom, and a fusion of folklore with Victorian anxieties. Given the limited public information available, his biographical details are not elaborated here; yet the works at hand suffice to show that Stoker excelled at building fear through detailed description and pacing, and that his vampire narrative has profoundly influenced later horror literature and screen adaptations, making it an enduring classic of genre fiction.