Bram Stoker

Both Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker wooed Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty. Stoker successfully impressed her and married her in 1878. Their only child, a son, was born the following year.

Stoker was known world over as the personal assistant of Irving. The settings of most of his stories were inspired by the places he visited during the travels with Irving.

He stood to gain from the association with Irving, as it opened doors to the high society of London. He got the opportunity to be associated with James Mcneill Whistler and Sir Arthur Doyle.

Bram Stoker was born on November 8, 1847 to Irish Protestant parents, Abraham Stoker and Charlotte Matilda Blake Thornley Stoker at Clontarf, Dublin.

He was a sickly child and bedridden for most of his boyhood. By the time he reached Trinity College he was strong and athletic.

His imagination was fuelled by the stories his mother told him. His interest in Irish folklore, supernatural and the occult went on to become the themes of writings.

He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland with honours in mathematics in 1870. He joined the Irish civil service and served for ten years.

His father was a civil servant at the Dublin castle, which was home to the British Royals in Ireland. This influence helped him to join the civil services.

As a student, he became interested in theatre, influenced by his friend Dr. Maunsell. He became a popular theatre critic for the Dublin Evening Mail and gave this profession a much needed esteem.

In 1876, his favourable review of Henry Irving's play, ‘Hamlet’ at the Theatre Royal in Dublin, earned him a lifelong friendship.

His first writing was "Sensationalism in Fiction and Society” during his tenure as the president of the University Philosophical Society.

In 1879 he published his first literary work, ‘The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland’. This, later on, was accepted as the handbook in legal administration in Ireland.

He moved to London and worked as Henry Irving’s manager. He performed managerial, secretarial, and even directorial duties at Lyceum Theatre for almost 27 years.

Stoker published his horror fiction ‘Dracula’ in 1897. It revolved around the meetings of Jonathan Harke with the blood-thirsty Count Dracula. The bloodcurdling tales haunt readers even after a hundred years.

After Irving’s death in 1906, Stoker published his ‘Life of Irving” which proved to be successful, and continued to manage the productions at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

He had written many short stories which were not published. The collection of his short stories was posthumously published in 1914 by Stoker’s widow, Florence.

The great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, Dacre Stoker, with encouragement from screenwriter Ian Holt, wrote a sequel to the original novel. In 2009 ‘Dracula-The Un-Dead’ was released. Their inspiration was the handwritten notes of Stoker himself.