Biographical Information About the Author:
-Born 8 November 1847
-Died 20 April 1912
-Was an Irish theatre critic and an author
-Was the third of seven children
-Was a sickly child
-Was bed-ridden until the age of seven
-Entered Trinity College to study mathematics
-Graduated with honours
-Began writing theatre reviews for Dublin Evening Mail
-Wrote a review for William Shakespeare's Hamlet
-While not involved in theatre, he began to write novels
-By 1878, he was acting manager at Lyceum Theatre
-Married actress Florence Balcombe in 1878
-Wrote Gothic and fantasy fiction novels
-Published Henry Irving's biography
-Had a son named Irving Noel Thornley Stoker
-Was cremated
Other Works by Bram Stoker
The Primrose Path(1875)
Snake's Pass(1890)
The Watter's Mou'(1895)
The Shoulder of Shasta(1895)
Miss Betty(1898)
The Mystery of the Sea(1902)
Lady Athlyne(1908)
Famous Impostors(1910)
Book Reviews
Dracula book review by Lizabet
Bram Stoker's Dracula review by Jane
Book Review: Dracula
Historical/Geographical Context
Historically, the name "Dracula" is derived from a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon, founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg(king of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperor) to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks.
It has been suggested that Stoker was influenced by the history of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who was born in the Kingdom of Hungary. Bathory is suspected to have tortured and killed anywhere between 36 and 700 young women over a period of many years, and it was commonly believed that she committed these crimes in order to bathe in or drink their blood, believing that this preserved her youth.
Many of the scenes in Whitby and London are based on real places that Stoker frequently visited, although in some cases he distorts the geography for the sake of the story.
Some people believe that the character of Dracula was based on someone named Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as Vlad Dracula. "Vlad the Impaler" is said to have killed from 40,000 to 100,000 European civilians (political rivals, criminals and anyone else he considered "useless to humanity"), mainly by using his favourite method of impaling them on a sharp pole.
