Bram Stoker

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Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish novelist and theater manager.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He is best known as the author of Dracula (1897), a classic epistolary Gothic horror novel considered a landmark in vampire literature, and the creator of the fictional character Count Dracula, the vampire noble who serves as the main antagonist in his novel.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Stoker was the third of seven children and was bedridden for the first seven years of his life with an undiagnosed illness. He received his initial education at home, before enrolling at Trinity College Dublin in 1864. He excelled as a rugby athlete and was a prominent member of both the university's philosophical society and student union. It was also during this period that Stoker was introduced to literature, becoming the auditor of the society and writing his first paper.

During the early part of his career, Stoker spent ten years in the civil service at Dublin Castle, during which time he was also a drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. Following this, he was employed as a theatre critic for several newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph, and occasionally wrote short stories and theatre commentaries. During his life, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and the business manager of the West End's Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned. During his time as a theatre critic, Stoker founded the "Dublin Sketching Club" in 1879, which dealt mostly with art collections. He regularly travelled during his free time, particularly to Cruden Bay in Scotland, which was the setting for two of his novels and also served as the inspiration for writing Dracula. He was friends with both Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde, and had collaborated with other authors for experimental novels such as The Fate of Fenella (1892).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Stoker wrote a dozen horror and mystery novels and novellas,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> including The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903), The Lair of the White Worm (1911) and The Mystery of the Sea (1902), but his reputation as one of the most influential writers of Gothic horror fiction lies solely with Dracula.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Since the early 20th century, the novel has become one of the best-selling works of vampire fiction and Count Dracula is one of the best-known fictional figures of the Victorian era.<ref name="Miller January 2001 121–171">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Dracula in Visual Media">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The work deeply influenced future representations of vampiric characters and Stoker came to be regarded by many as "the father of vampire fiction."<ref name="Legacy Journal">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="The Father of the Modern Vampire">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Stoker was born on 8 November 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent, Clontarf, in Dublin, Ireland.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The park adjacent to the house is now known as Bram Stoker Park.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His parents were Abraham Stoker (1799–1876), an Anglo-Irishman from Dublin, and Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornley (1818–1901), of English and Irish descent, who was raised in County Sligo.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Stoker was the third of seven children, the eldest of whom was Sir Thornley Stoker, 1st Baronet.<ref>His siblings were: Sir (William) Thornley Stoker, born in 1845; Mathilda, born 1846; Thomas, born 1850; Richard, born 1852; Margaret, born 1854; and George, born 1855</ref> Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf and attended the parish church with their children, who were baptised there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Abraham was a senior civil servant.

Stoker was bedridden with an unknown illness 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." He was privately educated at Bective House school run by the Reverend William Woods.<ref name="obit">Obituary, Irish Times, 23 April 1912</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After his recovery, he grew up without further serious illnesses, even excelling as an athlete at Trinity College, Dublin, which he attended from 1864 to 1870. He graduated with a BA in 1870 and paid to receive his MA in 1875. Though he later in life recalled graduating "with honours in mathematics", this appears to have been a mistake.<ref>Bram Stoker (1847–1912) Trinity College Dublin Writers by Jarlath Killeen</ref> He was named University Athlete, participating in multiple sports, including playing rugby for Dublin University. He was auditor of the College Historical Society (the Hist) and president of the University Philosophical Society (he remains the only student in Trinity's history to hold both positions), where his first paper was on Sensationalism in Fiction and Society.Template:Citation needed

Early career

Bram Stoker's former home featuring a commemorative plaque, Kildare Street, Dublin

Stoker became interested in the theatre while a student through his friend Dr. Maunsell. While working for the Irish Civil Service, he became the theatre critic for the Dublin Evening Mail,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which was co-owned by Sheridan Le Fanu, an author of Gothic tales. Theatre critics were held in low esteem at the time, but Stoker attracted notice by the quality of his reviews. In December 1876, he gave a favourable review of Henry Irving's Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Dublin. Irving invited Stoker for dinner at the Shelbourne Hotel where he was staying, and they became friends. Stoker also wrote stories, and "Crystal Cup" was published by the London Society in 1872, followed by "The Chain of Destiny" in four parts in The Shamrock. In 1876, while a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote the non-fiction book The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland (published 1879), which remained a standard work.<ref name="obit" /> Furthermore, he possessed an interest in art and was a founder of the Dublin Sketching Club in 1879.

Lyceum Theatre

Template:Multiple image In 1878, Stoker married Florence Balcombe, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel James Balcombe of 1 Marino Crescent. She was a celebrated beauty whose former suitor had been Oscar Wilde.<ref>Irish Times, 8 March 1882, p. 5</ref> Stoker had known Wilde from his student days, having proposed him for membership of the university's Philosophical Society while he was president. Wilde was upset at Florence's decision, but Stoker later resumed the acquaintanceship, and, after Wilde's fall, visited him on the Continent.<ref name="irtimes">Template:Cite web</ref>

The Stokers moved to London, where Stoker became acting manager and then business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre in the West End, a post he held for 27 years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 31 December 1879, Bram and Florence's only child was born, a son whom they christened Irving Noel Thornley Stoker. The collaboration with Henry Irving was important for Stoker and through him, he became involved in London's high society, where he met James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Working for Irving, the most famous actor of his time, and managing one of the most successful theatres in London made Stoker a notable if busy man. He was dedicated to Irving and his memoirs show he idolised him. In London, Stoker also met Hall Caine, who became one of his closest friends – he dedicated Dracula to him.Template:Citation needed

In the course of Irving's tours, Stoker travelled the world, although he never visited Eastern Europe, a setting for his most famous novel. Stoker enjoyed the United States, where Irving was popular. With Irving, he was invited twice to the White House and knew William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Stoker set two of his novels in America and used Americans as characters, the most notable being Quincey Morris. He also met one of his literary idols, Walt Whitman, having written to him in 1872 an extraordinary letter<ref>David J. Skal, Something In The Blood: The True Story Of Bram Stoker, Liveright, 2016, pp. 92–97.</ref> that some have interpreted as the expression of a deeply-suppressed homosexuality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Bram Stoker in Cruden Bay

Slains Castle, Cruden Bay. The early chapters of Dracula were written in Cruden Bay, and Slains Castle possibly provided visual inspiration for Bram Stoker during the writing phase.

Stoker was a regular visitor to Cruden Bay in Scotland between 1892 and 1910. His month-long holidays to the Aberdeenshire coastal village provided a large portion of available time for writing his books. Two novels were set in Cruden Bay: The Watter's Mou' (1895) and The Mystery of the Sea (1902). He started writing Dracula there in 1895 while in residence at the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel. The guest book with his signatures from 1894 and 1895 still survives. The nearby Slains Castle (also known as New Slains Castle) is linked with Bram Stoker and plausibly provided the visual palette for the descriptions of Castle Dracula during the writing phase. A distinctive room in Slains Castle, the octagonal hall, matches the description of the octagonal room in Castle Dracula.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Writings

Commemorative plaque in Whitby, North Yorkshire, the English coastal town frequented by Stoker, and where Count Dracula comes ashore in Dracula

Stoker visited the English coastal town of Whitby in 1890, and that visit was said to be part of the inspiration for Dracula, staying at a guesthouse in West Cliff at 6 Royal Crescent, doing his research at the public library at 7 Pier Road (now Quayside Fish and Chips).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Count Dracula comes ashore at Whitby, and in the shape of a black dog runs up the 199 steps to the graveyard of St Mary's Church in the shadow of the Whitby Abbey ruins.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Stoker began writing novels while working as manager for Irving and secretary and director of London's Lyceum Theatre, beginning with The Snake's Pass in 1890 and Dracula in 1897. During this period, he was part of the literary staff of The Daily Telegraph in London, and he wrote other fiction, including the horror novels The Lady of the Shroud (1909) and The Lair of the White Worm (1911).<ref name=WorldBio/> He published his Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving in 1906, after Irving's death, which proved successful,<ref name=obit /> and managed productions at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

Before writing Dracula, Stoker met Ármin Vámbéry, a Hungarian-Jewish writer and traveller (born in Szent-György, Kingdom of Hungary now Svätý Jur, Slovakia). Dracula likely emerged from Vámbéry's dark stories of the Carpathian Mountains.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However this claim has been challenged by many including Elizabeth Miller, a professor who, since 1990, has had as her major field of research and writing Dracula, and its author, sources, and influences. She has stated, "The only comment about the subject matter of the talk was that Vambery 'spoke loudly against Russian aggression.'" There had been nothing in their conversations about the "tales of the terrible Dracula" that are supposed to have "inspired Stoker to equate his vampire-protagonist with the long-dead tyrant." At any rate, by this time, Stoker's novel was well under way, and he was already using the name Dracula for his vampire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Stoker then spent several years researching Central and East European folklore and mythological stories of vampires.

The 1972 book In Search of Dracula by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally claimed that the Count in Stoker's novel was based on Vlad III Dracula.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, according to Elizabeth Miller, Stoker borrowed only the name and "scraps of miscellaneous information" about Romanian history; further, there are no comments about Vlad III in the author's working notes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The first-edition cover of Dracula

Dracula is an epistolary novel, written as a collection of realistic but completely fictional diary entries, telegrams, letters, ship's logs, and newspaper clippings, all of which added a level of detailed realism to the story, a skill which Stoker had developed as a newspaper writer. At the time of its publication, Dracula was considered a "straightforward horror novel" based on imaginary creations of supernatural life.<ref name=WorldBio/> "It gave form to a universal fantasy ... and became a part of popular culture."<ref name=WorldBio/> It is one of the most famous works in English literature, and the titular character of Count Dracula has been adapted more times than any other fictional figure.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The book also established Stoker's reputation as one of the most acclaimed writers of Gothic horror fiction.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, Stoker's stories are today included in the categories of horror fiction, romanticized Gothic stories, and melodrama.<ref name="WorldBio">Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale Research (1998) vol 8. pp. 461–464</ref> They are classified alongside other works of popular fiction, such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which also used the myth-making and story-telling method of having multiple narrators telling the same tale from different perspectives. According to historian Jules Zanger, this leads the reader to the assumption that "they can't all be lying".<ref name="Zanger">Zanger, Jules (1997). Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture ed. Joan Gordon. Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 17–24</ref>

The original 541-page typescript of Dracula was believed to have been lost until it was found in a barn in northwestern Pennsylvania in the early 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It consisted of typed sheets with many emendations, and handwritten on the title page was "THE UN-DEAD." The author's name was shown at the bottom as Bram Stoker. Author Robert Latham remarked: "the most famous horror novel ever published, its title changed at the last minute".<ref name="Latham">Latham, Robert. Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review Annual, Greenwood Publishing (1988) p. 67</ref> The typescript was purchased by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Stoker's inspirations for the story, in addition to Whitby, may have included a visit to Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire, a visit to the crypts of St. Michan's Church in Dublin, and the novella Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu.<ref name="boy">Template:Cite book</ref> Stoker's original research notes for the novel are kept by the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia. A facsimile edition of the notes was created by Elizabeth Miller and Robert Eighteen-Bisang in 1998.Template:Citation needed

Stoker at the London Library

Stoker was a member of the London Library and conducted much of the research for Dracula there. In 2018, the Library discovered some of the books that Stoker used for his research, complete with notes and marginalia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

Shared urn which contains Stoker's and his son's ashes in Golders Green Crematorium

After suffering a number of strokes, Stoker died at No. 26 St George's Square, London on 20 April 1912.<ref name="mc">Template:Cite web</ref> Some biographers attribute the cause of death to overwork,<ref name="The Discussion">Template:Cite book</ref> others to tertiary syphilis.<ref name="Gibson">Template:Cite book</ref> His death certificate listed the cause of death as "Locomotor ataxia 6 months", presumed to be a reference to syphilis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was cremated, and his ashes are contained in a display urn at Golders Green Crematorium in north London. The ashes of Irving Noel Stoker, the author's son, were added to his father's urn following his death in 1961. 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.Template:Citation needed

Beliefs and philosophy

Stoker was raised a Protestant in the Church of Ireland. He was a strong supporter of the Liberal Party and took a keen interest in Irish affairs.<ref name=obit /> As a "philosophical home ruler", he supported Home Rule for Ireland brought about by peaceful means. He remained an ardent monarchist who believed that Ireland should remain within the British Empire. He was an admirer of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, whom he knew personally, and supported his plans for Ireland.<ref>Murray, Paul. From the Shadow of Dracula: A Life of Bram Stoker. 2004.</ref>

Stoker believed in progress and took a keen interest in science and science-based medicine. Some of Stoker's novels represent early examples of science fiction, such as The Lady of the Shroud (1909). He had a writer's interest in the occult, notably mesmerism, but despised fraud and believed in the superiority of the scientific method over superstition. Stoker counted among his friends J. W. Brodie-Innis, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and hired member Pamela Colman Smith as an artist for the Lyceum Theatre, but no evidence suggests that Stoker ever joined the Order himself.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Like Irving, who was an active Freemason, Stoker also became a member of the order, "initiated into Freemasonry in Buckingham and Chandos Lodge No. 1150 in February 1883, passed in April of that same year, and raised to the degree of Master Mason on 20 June 1883."<ref name="The Story of Freemason Bram Stoker">Template:Cite web</ref> Stoker however was not a particularly active Freemason, spent only six years as an active member,<ref name="The Story of Freemason Bram Stoker"/> and did not take part in any Masonic activities during his time in London.<ref>Template:Cite web John Pickamp; Robert Protheroug 'The Ripper and The Lyceum: The Significance of Irving's Freemasonry' The Irving Society website</ref>

Posthumous

His novel Dracula has become one of the most influential and well-known works of both vampire fiction and English literature.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Count Dracula is also ranked among the most depicted fictional characters of the Victorian era,<ref name="Miller January 2001 121–171"/> with over 700 adaptations.<ref name="Dracula in Visual Media"/> The significance of the novel and its direct impact on subsequent vampire-themed works led to Stoker being popularly regarded as "the father of vampire fiction."<ref name="Legacy Journal"/><ref name="The Father of the Modern Vampire"/> The short story collection Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories was published in 1914 by Stoker's widow, Florence Stoker, who was also his literary executrix. The first film adaptation of Dracula was F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu, released in 1922, with Max Schreck starring as Count Orlok. Florence Stoker eventually sued the filmmakers and was represented by the attorneys of the British Incorporated Society of Authors. Her chief legal complaint was that she had neither been 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. A single print of the film survived, however, and it has become well known. The first authorised film version of Dracula did not come about until almost a decade later when Universal Studios released Tod Browning's Dracula starring Bela Lugosi.Template:Citation needed

Dacre Stoker

Canadian writer Dacre Stoker, a great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, decided to write "a sequel that bore the Stoker name" to "reestablish creative control over" the original novel, with encouragement from screenwriter Ian Holt, because of the Stokers' frustrating history with Dracula's copyright. Dracula: The Un-Dead was released in 2009, written by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt. Both writers "based [their work] on Bram Stoker's own handwritten notes for characters and plot threads excised from the original edition" along with their own research for the sequel. This also marked Dacre Stoker's writing debut.<ref>Dracula: The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In spring 2012, Dacre Stoker in collaboration with Elizabeth Miller presented the "lost" Dublin Journal written by Bram Stoker, which had been kept by his great-grandson Noel Dobbs. Stoker's diary entries shed a light on the issues that concerned him before his London years. A remark about a boy who caught flies in a bottle might be a clue for the later development of the Renfield character in Dracula.<ref>Stoker, Bram. Bram Stoker's Lost Dublin Journal, ed. by Stoker, Dacre and Miller, Elizabeth. London: Biteback Press, 2012</ref>

Commemorations

A monument to Stoker has been erected at the Borgo Pass, 45 kilometres from Bistritz (Romania) at an altitude of 1,200 metres.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 8 November 2012, Stoker was honoured with a Google Doodle on Google's homepage commemorating the 165th anniversary of his birth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

An annual festival takes place in Dublin, the birthplace of Bram Stoker, in honour of his literary achievements. The Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival encompasses spectacles, literary events, film, family-friendly activities and outdoor events, and takes place every October Bank Holiday Weekend in Dublin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The festival is supported by the Bram Stoker Estate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is funded by Dublin City Council.

Bibliography

Novels

Short story collections

Uncollected stories

Title Date of earliest appearance Earliest appearance Notes
"The Crystal Cup" September 1872 London Society (London)
"Buried Treasures" 13 March 1875 and 20 March 1875 The Shamrock (Dublin)
"The Chain of Destiny" 1 May 1875 and 22 May 1875 The Shamrock (Dublin)
"Our New House" 23 November 1885 The Theatre Annual (London)
"The Dualitists; or, The Death Doom of the Double Born" November 1886 The Theatre Annual (London)
"The Gombeen Man" 1890 The People (London) Chapter 3 of The Snake's Pass
"Gibbet Hill"<ref name="GibbetHill">Template:Cite web</ref> 17 December 1890 Daily Express (Dublin)
"The Night of the Shifting Bog" January 1891 Current Literature: A Magazine of Record and Review, Vol. VI, No. 1. (New York) Chapter 17 of The Snake's Pass
"Lord Castleton Explains" 30 January 1892 The Gentlewoman: The Illustrated Weekly Journal for Gentlewomen (London) Chapter 10 of The Fate of Fenella (Hutchinson, 1892)
"Old Hoggen: A Mystery" 15 January 1893 Boston Herald
"The Man from Shorrox" February 1894 The Pall Mall Magazine (London)
"When the Sky Rains Gold" 26 August and 2 September 1894 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper (London)
"The Red Stockade" September 1894 The Cosmopolitan: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine (London)
"At the Watter's Mou': Between Duty and Love" November 1895 Current Literature: A Magazine of Record and Review, Vol. XVIII, No. 5. (New York) Part of Chapter 2 of The Watter's Mou'
"Bengal Roses" 17 and 24 July 1898 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper
"A Baby Passenger" 9 February 1899 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper Alternate version of "Chin Music", from Snowbound
"A Young Widow" 26 March 1899 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper
"A Yellow Duster" 7 May 1899 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper
"Lucky Escapes of Sir Henry Irving" 1 May 1900 The St. Paul Globe
"The Seer" 1902 The Mystery of the Sea (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.) Chapters 1 and 2 of The Mystery of the Sea
"The Bridal of Death" 1903 The Jewel of the Seven Stars (London: William Heinemann) Alternate ending to The Jewel of Seven Stars
"A Widower's Grief" October 1906 Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (London: William Heinemann) Part of Chapter 39 of Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving
"To the Rescue" 22 April 1908 The Westminster Gazette
"The 'Eroes of the Thames" October 1908 The Royal Magazine (London)
"What They Confessed: A Low Comedian's Story" 27 December 1908 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper Alternate version of "In Fear of Death", from Snowbound
"The Way of Peace" December 1909 Everybody's Story Magazine (London)
"Greater Love" October 1914 The London Magazine (London)

Non-fiction

Articles

Critical works on Stoker

  • Hughes, William, Beyond Dracula: Bram Stoker's Fiction and Its Cultural Context (Palgrave, 2000) Template:ISBN<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Belford, Barbara. Bram Stoker: A Biography of the Author of Dracula. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1996.
  • Hopkins, Lisa. Bram Stoker: A Literary Life. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
  • Murray, Paul. From the Shadow of Dracula: A Life of Bram Stoker (London: Jonathan Cape, 2004)
  • Senf, Carol. Science and Social Science in Bram Stoker's Fiction (Greenwood, 2002).
  • Senf, Carol. Dracula: Between Tradition and Modernism (Twayne, 1998).
  • Senf, Carol A. Bram Stoker (University of Wales Press, 2010).
  • Shepherd, Mike. When Brave Men Shudder: the Scottish origins of Dracula (Wild Wolf Publishing, 2018).
  • Skal, David J. Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker (Liveright, 2016)
  • Template:Cite book

References

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