Bram Stoker

Pseudonym: Abraham Stoker Born: 08/11/1847 Died: 20/04/1912 Gender: Male Genre: Gothic Occupation: Novelist

Bram Stoker was born in Dublin in Ireland, part of the small Protestant elite that than governed the country as a colony of Britain: he grew up in the same row of houses as his contemporary, Oscar Wilde. He studied at Trinity College Dublin and then became a civil servant, but in 1878 he completely transformed his life by accepting the offer of the famous actor Henry Irving to become the manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London. He worked for 20 years in the heart of London theatre at the height of its cultural influence. In his spare time, he also wrote novels and stories, mainly in sensational Gothic form. These included Jewel of the Seven Stars (1903) and Lair of the White Worm (1911), but the most famous was Dracula (1897). Initially rather disregarded as a lurid thriller, it has since become the most influential novel about vampires ever written, adapted for cinema hundreds of times.

Image source: Bram Stoker by W. & D. Downey © National Portrait Gallery, London