Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish writer of novels and short stories, who is best known today for his 1897 horror novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known for being the personal assistant of the actor Henry Irving and the business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.
Easton Press Bram Stoker books
Dracula - Collector's Library of Famous Editions - 1965 (red leather)
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Author Bram Stoker
Stoker was born in 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent, located today in Fairview, but then in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. His parents were Abraham Stoker (1799-1876) and the feminist Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely (1818-1901). Stoker was the third of seven children. Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Clontarf Church of Ireland parish and attended the parish church (St. John the Baptist located on Seafield Road West) with their children, who were both baptised there.
Stoker was bed-ridden until he started school at the age of seven, when he made a complete recovery. Of this time, Stoker wrote, "I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years."
After his recovery, he became a normal young man, even excelling as an athlete (he was named University Athlete) at Trinity College, Dublin , which he attended from 1864 to 1870. He graduated with honours in mathematics. He was auditor of the College Historical Society and president of the University Philosophical Society, where his first paper was on "Sensationalism in Fiction and Society".
Early career
In 1876, while employed as a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote a non-fiction book (The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland, published 1879) and became the theatre critic for the newspaper Dublin Evening Mail. In December 1876, he gave a favourable review of the actor Henry Irving's performance as Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Dublin. Irving read the review and invited Stoker for dinner at the Shelbourne Hotel, where he was staying. After that they became friends. He also wrote stories, and in 1872 "The Crystal Cup" was published by the London Society, followed by "The Chain of Destiny" in four parts in The Shamrock.
Lyceum Theatre and later career
In 1878 Stoker married Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde. The couple moved to London, where Stoker became acting-manager and then business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre, a post he held for 27 years. On 31 December 1879, Bram and Florence's only child was born, a son that they christened Irving Noel Thornley Stoker. The collaboration with Irving was very important for Stoker and through him he became involved in London's high society, where he met, among other notables, James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (to whom he was distantly related). In the course of Irving's tours, Stoker got the chance to travel around the world. In the mid 1890s, Stoker is rumoured to have become a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, though there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. One of Stoker's closest friends was J.W. Brodie-Innis, a major figure in the Order, and Stoker himself hired Pamela Coleman Smith, as an artist at the Lyceum Theater.
Stoker supplemented his income by writing novels; the best known being the vampire tale Dracula which was published in 1897. Before writing Dracula, Stoker spent eight years researching European folklore and stories of vampires. Dracula is an epistolary novel, written as collection of diary entries, telegrams, and letters from the characters, as well as fictional clippings from the Whitby and London newspapers. Stoker's inspirations for the story were a visit to Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire, and a visit to the crypts under the church St. John the Baptist where Stoker was baptised.
How did Bram Stoker die?
After suffering a number of strokes Bram Stoker died at No 26 St George's Square in 1912. Some biographers attribute the cause of death to tertiary syphilis. He was cremated and his ashes placed in a display urn at Golders Green Crematorium. After Irving Noel Stoker's death in 1961, his ashes were added to that urn. The original plan had been to keep his parents' ashes together, but after Florence Stoker's death her ashes were scattered at the Gardens of Rest.
The short story collection Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories was published in 1914 by Stoker's widow Florence Stoker. The first film adaptation of Dracula was named Nosferatu. It was directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau and starred Max Schreck as Count Orlock. Nosferatu was produced while Florence Stoker, Bram Stoker's widow and literary executrix, was still alive. Represented by the attorneys of the British Incorporated Society of Authors, she eventually sued the filmmakers. Her chief legal complaint was that she had been neither asked for permission for the adaptation nor paid any royalty. The case dragged on for some years, with Mrs. Stoker demanding the destruction of the negative and all prints of the film. The suit was finally resolved in the widow's favour in July 1925. Some copies of the film survived, however and the film has become well known.
Dracula
Dracula
is the iconic novel that has chilled and captivated audiences for
generations and was first published in 1897. This timeless masterpiece
has since become synonymous with the vampire genre, shaping the way we
perceive and understand these immortal creatures of the night.
Bram
Stoker drew inspiration from various sources, including Eastern
European folklore, history, and his own vivid imagination, to create one
of literature's most enduring and feared characters: Count Dracula. Set
against the backdrop of Victorian England, the novel unfolds through a
series of letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings, immersing
readers in a tale of horror, suspense, and Gothic romance. At the heart
of Dracula lies the enigmatic figure of Count Dracula himself, a
Transylvanian nobleman who possesses unearthly powers and a insatiable
thirst for blood. As the story unfolds, Dracula leaves his castle in the
Carpathian Mountains and travels to England, where he sets his sights
on unsuspecting victims and unleashes terror upon the populace. The
novel's protagonist, Professor Abraham Van Helsing, leads a group of
intrepid individuals in a desperate battle against the dark forces of
Dracula. Together, they embark on a harrowing quest to rid the world of
the vampire's malevolent influence and save humanity from his sinister
machinations. Dracula captivates readers with its richly atmospheric
prose, vividly drawn characters, and spine-tingling suspense. Stoker
masterfully weaves together themes of sexuality, morality, and the
eternal struggle between good and evil, creating a work that continues
to resonate with readers of all ages.
Since its publication,
Dracula has inspired countless adaptations in literature, theater, film,
and popular culture. From stage productions to blockbuster movies, the
character of Count Dracula has become an enduring symbol of fear and
fascination, captivating audiences across the globe. Beyond its status
as a literary classic, Dracula remains a cultural phenomenon,
influencing everything from Halloween costumes to vampire-themed
merchandise. Its legacy endures as a testament to the enduring power of
storytelling and the timeless appeal of the vampire mythos.
As
readers continue to be drawn into the dark and mysterious world of
Dracula, Bram Stoker's immortal creation continues to reign supreme as
the ultimate vampire and a testament to the enduring power of fear and
fascination.
The Lair of the White Worm
Published
in 1911, The Lair of the White Worm stands as a testament to Stoker's
mastery of Gothic horror and his penchant for crafting tales that
resonate with readers long after the final page is turned. Set in rural
England, the story follows the eerie and unsettling events that unfold
in the village of Mercy Farm, where the ancient evil of the White Worm
lurks in the shadows, preying upon unsuspecting victims. As the sinister
creature awakens from its slumber, a diverse cast of characters,
including the intrepid archaeologist Adam Salton and the enigmatic Lady
Arabella March, find themselves drawn into a deadly game of cat and
mouse with forces beyond their comprehension.
Stoker weaves a web
of intrigue and suspense, blending elements of folklore, mythology, and
the supernatural to create a chilling tale that keeps readers on the
edge of their seats. Through vivid descriptions, atmospheric prose, and
spine-tingling encounters, The Lair of the White Worm immerses readers
in a world where ancient evils clash with modern sensibilities, and the
line between reality and nightmare becomes increasingly blurred. With
its timeless themes of good versus evil and the enduring power of myth,
Stoker's novel continues to captivate and unsettle readers, cementing
its status as a classic of Gothic literature.
Bram Stoker quotes
"I want you to believe...to believe in things that you cannot."
"No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be."
"Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!"
"Despair has its own calms."
"How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams."
"We learn from failure, not from success! ... There is a reason why all things are as they are."
"I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul."
"Even if she be not harmed, her heart may fail her in so much and so many horrors; and hereafter she may suffer both in waking, from her nerves, and in sleep, from her dreams."
"No one but a woman can help a man when he is in trouble of the heart."
Bram Stoker books
The Primrose Path (1875)
The Snake's Pass (1890)
The Watter's Mou' (1895)
The Shoulder of Shasta (1895)
Dracula (1897)
Miss Betty (1898)
The Mystery of the Sea (1902)
The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903)
The Man (aka: The Gates of Life) (1905)
Lady Athlyne (1908)
The Lady of the Shroud (1909)
The Lair of the White Worm (1911)
Short story collections
Under the Sunset (1881 - comprising eight fairy tales for children)
Snowbound: The Record of a Theatrical Touring Party (1908)
Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914 - published posthumously by Florence Stoker)
Uncollected stories
Bridal of Dead (alternate ending to The Jewel of Seven Stars)
Buried Treasures
The Chain of Destiny
The Crystal Cup
The Dualitists; or, The Death Doom of the Double Born"
Lord Castleton Explains (chapter 10 of The Fate of Fenella)
The Gombeen Man (chapter 3 of The Snake's Pass)
In the Valley of the Shadow
The Man from Shorrox
Midnight Tales
The Red Stockade
The Seer (chapters 1 and 2 of The Mystery of the Sea)
Non-fiction
The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland (1879)
A Glimpse of America (1886)
Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906)
Famous Impostors (1910)
Source and additional information: Bram Stoker