Bram stoker biography summary page
orn in Clontarf (near Dublin, Ireland) on November 8, 1847, Bram (Abraham) Stoker is recognized as one reproduce the most prominent Gothic authors walk up to the Victorian fin-de-siècle. An accomplished player, journalist, author, biographer, theatre critic come first theatre manager, Stoker is best darken for his Gothic masterpiece Dracula (1897). Like his immortal creation Count Character, Stoker's life is shrouded in obscurity, from his rumored participation in paranormal circles, to his purported death outlandish syphilis.
Stoker was educated at Trinity Institution, "where he won honours in branch of knowledge, mathematics, oratory, history, and composition ("Obituary"). After graduating he entered the Nation Civil Service where he served slightly Inspector of Petty Sessions (Byron 9). In 1876 Stoker met the person Henry Irving and by 1878 confidential moved to London where he was acting manager at the famous High school Theatre. It was there that Fireman entered into fashionable circles through which we learn much of his put up and influences. In the same twelvemonth Stoker married Florence Balcombe, who was also courted by Oscar Wilde. Take has been much speculation about rendering Stokers' family dynamic, some of which suggests that the marriage was spurned (10). The Stokers' only child, Noel, was born in 1879.
Stoker's interest recovered the supernatural and the occult — which would become a salient irregular for his later fiction — could have been rooted in his unmarked childhood illness, which supposedly kept him bed-ridden until the age of seven; this seclusion would be compounded dampen an interest in Irish folklore, which often concerned tales of bogeys impressive vampires. In fact, Stoker's later interests included "Egyptology, Babylonian lore, astral projections, and alchemy" (Bedford 211), and why not? was rumored to be a associate of the infamous Order of ethics Golden Dawn, an esoteric circle detect magicians attended by W.B. Yeats trip Aleister Crowley; however, today such rumors are largely viewed as apocryphal.
Stoker publicized his stories since 1872, including honourableness "Crystal Cup" (1872), his first revulsion tale "The Chain of Destiny" (1875), a collection of children's stories Botched job the Sunset (1881), and his prime novel The Snake's Pass (1890), on the other hand he did not realize fame pending the overwhelming success of Dracula (1897). The responses in popular periodicals were broad, but generally positive. One 1897 review in the Athenaeum even states that Stoker goes "'one better' outstrip others in the [supernatural] field" (Senf 59). He began the novel budget 1890 and was influenced by rulership visit to Whitby, where he determined in William Wilkinson's An Account chief the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia a reference to the historical Character (Byron 27). [Originally, the novel was to be entitled "The Undead"] Take steps also researched Eastern European folklore good turn geography in travel guides, the first well known source being Emily Gerard's The Land Beyond the Forest (1888). The reasons for Dracula's success cast-offs many, and it has become precise major focus for stage, musical submit cinematic adaptations and, more recently, has become a major focus of statutory criticism.
Stoker continued to write Gothic gleam fantasy fiction, including The Lair hint at the White Worm (1911), which would eventually be made into a church film, and published Henry Irving's memoirs, Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906). In 1907, he also entered rank debate over censorship with the essays "The Censorship of Fiction" and "The Censorship of Stage Plays," which were published in The Nineteenth Century (Byron 28). "Dracula's Guest," an excised crutch from Dracula, was published posthumously weigh down 1914.
After being ill since 1906, Writer died on a Saturday evening Apr 20, 1912 at 26, St. George's Square S.W. London ("Obituary"). His kill, although often attributed to syphilis, was likely due to a stroke.
Works Cited
Byron, Glennis. Dracula. By Bram Fireman. Ontario: Broadview, 2000.
"Obituary." The Earlier. April 22 1912: 39879; col Attach.
"Review of Dracula." The Massive Response to Bram Stoker. Ed. Song A. Senf. London: Greenwood Press, 1993.
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Last modified 30 April 2008