16 h 44 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Beyond the Carpathian forests, market towns, shepherds and village fears fill a country that Emily Gerard wants you to know.
In The Land Beyond the Forest, Emily Gerard guides you through Transylvania, inside the great curve of the Carpathian Mountains. Her portrait draws on years of daily life rather than a short visit. Mountains and market towns share the page with weddings, fairs and the work of shepherds.
Gerard describes Saxons in walled towns, Roumanian villagers, Magyars, Jews and Armenians, each with distinct customs and traditions. She also records beliefs about ghosts, witches and vampires—the material that catches Bram Stoker’s attention. Her British Victorian outlook shapes the account, making its period attitudes part of what readers must weigh.
What you’ll discover
- Mountains and market towns Follow Gerard through a landscape where mountain country meets the bustle of fairs and towns.
- Neighbours with distinct traditions Explore the languages, dress, faiths and holidays of peoples who live side by side.
- The rhythms of daily life Weddings, village customs and shepherd life bring Gerard’s account close to ordinary experience.
- Witches, ghosts and vampires Encounter the village beliefs behind the section that draws Bram Stoker’s interest.
- A Victorian view to question Read with an eye for the period attitudes that shape Gerard’s descriptions.
Who will love it
For readers who love Victorian travel writing, folklore and the roots of the vampire legend, and anyone curious about Central and Eastern Europe.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mountain country with many doors
- The Saxons keep their walled towns
- Roumanian villagers and their shepherds
- Gypsies, Magyars, Jews and Armenians
- Superstitions, witches and the vampire
- Reading Gerard today
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 16 h 44 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Das Land jenseits des Waldes in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Das Land jenseits des Waldes
by E. Gerard · 1888
Gerard takes you through Transylvania's mountain towns and village beliefs to meet the folklore behind vampire fiction.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
The Land Beyond the Forest is a portrait of Transylvania written by Emily Gerard and published in 1888. Gerard was a Scottish writer who lived in the region for some years with her husband, an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A mountain country with many doors
Gerard begins with the shape of the country. Transylvania lies inside the great curve of the Carpathian Mountains, in what is now central Romania. In her day it belonged to the Hungarian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Forests, high pastures and river valleys divide it into districts that can feel like separate worlds.
She wants the reader to understand that this geography shaped the people. Mountain passes let armies, traders and settlers enter over the centuries, and many of them stayed. That is why one village might speak German, the next Romanian and the next Hungarian. Gerard treats this mix as the central fact of the place, and she comes back to it again and again.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Das Land jenseits des Waldes
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Land Beyond the Forest about?
It is Emily Gerard's description of Transylvania in the 1880s. She covers the land, its many peoples, their customs, weddings and fairs, and the folk beliefs of villagers, including tales of witches and vampires.
Did The Land Beyond the Forest inspire Dracula?
Yes, it is widely held that Bram Stoker drew on Gerard's writing about Transylvanian superstition, especially her account of the vampire, when he prepared Dracula. It is one of several sources he used.
What does the title The Land Beyond the Forest mean?
It translates the old Latin name Transylvania, which means beyond the forest. The name points to the country lying behind the wooded slopes of the Carpathian Mountains.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
