Bram Stoker

Profession: Novelist

Nationality:

Biography: Bram Stoker was an Irish author, best known for penning the classic Gothic novel Dracula in 1897. His creation of the iconic character Count Dracula has profoundly influenced modern pop culture, with the character serving as the definitive vampire in fiction and film.

Stoker spent a significant portion of his early career as a civil servant in Dublin Castle, before becoming an unpaid writer for a newspaper owned by the influential Irish politician Charles Stewart Parnell. His writing during this period would lay the groundwork for his later success.

In the late 1870s, Stoker began working as an assistant to actor Henry Irving, a role that involved managing Irving's Lyceum Theatre in London. Irving was known for his dramatic and gothic performances, which likely had a strong influence on Stoker's own writing style.

Stoker's writing career spanned a variety of genres, but it was Dracula that secured his place in literary history. The novel, a complex narrative told through a series of diary entries and letters, introduced readers to the mysterious Transylvanian vampire, Count Dracula. Stoker's vivid depiction of Dracula's immortality, power, and evil—apparently based on the life and deeds of Vlad the Impaler—captivated readers and made a lasting impact on horror literature.

Despite his immense contribution to literature today, Stoker's work was not widely recognized during his own lifetime. It was only in the years following his death that Dracula came to be recognized.

Born: November 8, 1847
Birthplace: Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland
Star Sign: Scorpio

Died: April 20, 1912 (aged 64)
Cause of Death: Probably syphilis after suffering a serious of strokes