Abraham ?¢??Bram?¢?? Stoker (1847-1912) was a sickly child, a star university athlete, civil servant, theater manager, and the author of eighteen books, but he is best known to history as the author of the seminal horror novel, Dracula. He was born in Dublin in 1847 and suffered from a number of childhood infirmities. When he recovered, he attended Trinity College and became a notable athlete.
After college, he started a civil service career and served in that capacity for a decade before moving into journalism. His glowing review of Henry Irving?¢??s performance as Hamlet led to the actor?¢??s friendship with Stoker who became Irving?¢??s traveling secretary and ultimately, the conscientious and efficient manager of Irving?¢??s Lyceum Theatre in London. While in Irving?¢??s employ, he married actress Florence Balcombe. In London, he began writing novels and short stories. Under the Sunset (1882) was a collection of children?¢??s stories and his first published novel was The Snake?¢??s Pass (1891). However, it was the publication of Dracula in 1897 that became Stoker?¢??s greatest accomplishment. Set in the dual settings of Transylvania and London, Dracula is recognized as one of the greatest horror stories ever written.
Bram Stoker?¢??s other literary efforts include The Mystery of the Sea (1902) and The Jewel of the Seven Stars in 1903. The Lyceum closed when Henry Irving died in 1905, but Stoker continued to write. In addition to Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906)?¢??a collection of letters and memories drawn from his relationship with the actor?¢??he wrote a number of novels and stories, including Lady of the Shroud (1909) and Lair of the White Worm (1911). Many other works became movies, such as The Jewel of the Seven Stars (The Awakening, 1980).
Stoker died in London in 1912, at the age of 64.
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Articles About Stoker, Bram
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Bram Stoker's Dracula in Whitby
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March 11, 2011 |
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"But, strangest of all, the very instant the shore was touched, an immense dog sprang up on deck from below ... and running forward, jumped from the bow on to the sand. Making straight for the steep cliff, where the churchyard hangs over the laneway to the East Pier ... it disappeared in the darkness."
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