The Man Who Wrote Dracula (U)

by Daniel Farson

Bram Stoker is the little-known author of one of the most famous books ever written. He has been eclipsed by the creature of his imagination, Count Dracula, the greatest vampire of them all. In his lifetime, too, Stoker was eclipsed - by the dominating personality of Sir Henry Irving, the actor. Stoker became Irving's manager, and served him with total devotion. Daniel Farson has a special interest in Stoker, who was his great-uncle, and he has visited Transylvania to trace the origins of Stoker's strange obsessions.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1975

Reviews

[Stacy Croushorn]

I really had hoped that this book would talk about Stoker and his writing of Dracula. It touched on it for only the briefest of moments. It heavily talked about Henry Irving and I actually wondered if this was a book about Irving instead of Stoker. Written by his great nephew I expected more of Stokers personality to be explored, more family stories told, but I was left disappointed. I would find a different book if you really wanted to know about Stoker.

[Deb Lancaster]

Never has a book cover promised so much and delivered so little. Hardly a biography really. The first section is far more about Irving, the middle and best section is a brief description of vampires in 19th century fiction and then boom he's dead. Badly written and lazy. I'm 99% sure after reading it that Mr Stoker was gay. Which is mildly interesting.

[Peter]

Bram's Eyes immediately had me hypnotized. So I picked up the volume and started to read. The book is from 1975 and written by a descendant of Bram. You'll learn Bram's relation to Henry Irving and see what the author came to know about a bag of letters Noel Stoker (Bram's son) gave him. There is a nice black and white photo section inside even with the castle at Cruden Bay where he actually wrote Dracula. The second part of the biography is focused on Dracula, vampirism in literature and Draculas reception. Part 3 deals with the fall of the Lyceum Theatre. The author does a great job here setting all the quotes and references in cotext. Even though many things are well known today this is something the Bram Stoker enthusiast has to read. Highly recommended!

[Debbie Best]

This wasn't my favorite book on Bram Stoker but it wasn't the worst one I've read. I do agree with a lot of the reviews I've read that this book focuses too much on Bram's relationship with Henry Irving. While it's great to learn about the friendships and whatnot that he had during his life, a book labeled as a biography should give you a lot more than just one part of a person's life. It just wasn't the book for me. I'm moving on to another biography and hope to learn more.

[Richard Stange]

This biography was absolutely great. Bram Stoker had an interesting life. What I really like about this book is that in addition to chronicling Stoker’s life, it also serves as somewhat of a guide to other vintage vampire literature and Bram Stoker’s other written work.