Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker was born in Ireland in 1847 and is best known for writing the novel Dracula. Stoker was the third of seven (7) children and was confined to his bed with an unknown illness until he started school at the age of seven (7). After his recovery, he grew up healthy even excelling as an athlete at Trinity College. He was named University Athlete, participating in multiple sports, including rugby. 

Stoker worked as a theater critic and wrote several stories as well. In December 1876, he gave a favorable review of Henry Irving's Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Dublin. Irving invited Stoker for dinner at the Shelbourne Hotel and they later became friends. He became Sir Henry Irving personal assistant and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre. Working for Irving's gave Stoker the opportunity to travel the world. He enjoyed the United States, where Irving was popular. When Irving was invited to the White House this gave Stoker the opportunity to meet William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Stoker set two of his novels in America and used Americans as characters: most notable Quincey Morris who also appeared in Dracula.

Long before writing Dracula, Stoker spent several years researching European folklore and mythological stories involving vampires. Dracula was written as a collection of diary entries, telegrams, letters, and newspaper clippings, which added a level of realism to Bram’s story. At the time of its publication, Dracula was considered a straightforward horror novel based on imaginary creations of supernatural life. Stoker's stories are categories as horror fiction, Gothic stories, and melodrama alongside other works of popular fiction, such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. 

 

The original 541-page typescript of Dracula was believed to have been lost until it was found in a barn in northwestern Pennsylvania. The typescript was purchased by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. After suffering several strokes, Stoker died in London on 20 April 1912.