What Does a Vampire Count, a Knighted Victorian Actor, and a Bloodthirsty Prince Have In Common?

Bram Stoker began scaring the world in 1897 when his classic masterpiece Dracula was published, however, you may not know the origins behind his most famous novel:

• Bram Stoker began researching Dracula in 1890
• His notes on Dracula, housed at the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania clearly shows this
• Notes from March 1890 shows the Dracula was originally going to be Count Wampyr
• The vampire count's homeland was to be set in Syria vs. Transylvania
• The novel was going to be titled the Un-Dead-Stoker crossed through the title page by hand and wrote in Dracula shortly before it went to print

Henry Irving – the first knighted victorian actor and the most celebrated of his day met Stoker in 1876 and became his closest friend and employer:

• The actor was known to be very egotistical, narcissistic, and overly demanding, rarely giving Bram the recognition he so often deserved. Not only did Stoker manage Irving’s affairs but also handled the theater's business transactions as well.
• Like a vampire, Irving was a “shape shifter” – in three years he acted more than 400 different parts in 330 plays
• Perhaps Irving’s most famous role was playing the Devil (or Mephistopheles) in the stage production of Faust
• Jonathan Harker’s description of the Count in Dracula states, "His face was a strong –a very strong—aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples, but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion."
• If that is not convincing enough, Bram Stoker wanted Irving to play Dracula in a staged reading in order to preserve its theatrical copyrights.
• There has been much debate over Irving being the main inspiration behind the fictional Count to the point entire books have been written about the subject

Bram’s Extensive Research:

• Evidence of Bram’s visits to the London library shows many books he used as reference – the London Library has identified these other referenced sources by Stoker’s unique writing and markings he made in the margins:
• "Transylvanian Superstitions" (1885) Emily Gerard; 4 pages of hand-written notes about folklore, many which got incorporated into his novel
• "Transylvania: Its Products and Its People" (1865) Charles Boner; notes about its history, wars and battles
• "On the Track of the Crescent" (1885) by Major E. C. Johnson; made a typed note that the Hungarians annexed Transylvania under Stephen and afterwards ruled by Voivodes
• "Round About the Carpathians" (1878) By A. F. Crosse; a typed note about Matthias Corvinus
• "An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia" (1820) by William Wilkinson; made two typed notes about the name Dracula meaning 'Devil' and Voivode Dracula (Vlad III - a ' vampire count ') fighting the Turkish Troops

Bram became more fascinated in Transylvania and its history than Syria by the sheer volume of rich folklore present in the area, especially vampire related superstition:

• An early page of his hand-written notes of character descriptions shows that Bram wrote Dracula three times at the top of the page while changing all previous references of Count Wampyr to Dracula
• Because the name Dracula in Wallachian means 'Devil,' it struck a chord with the author which caused him to rename the publisher contracted title "The Un-Dead" to "Dracula" right before it went to publication
• There are no references to the historical Vlad III in his notes other than his surname

So…What does a vampire Count, a Knighted Victorian Actor, and a bloodthirsty Prince have in common? I believe they are one and the same. And is it mere coincidence that Vlad the Impaler’s most infamous fear tactic happens to be the most popular method to destroy a vampire? How are these individuals and facts connected to my novel?

• My historical fictional prequel to Dracula follows the conceptualization of Dracula - or the ' vampire count '
• The research of my novel began with all the sources discussed here and more
• " STOKER: Evolution of a Vampire " merges the life and times of Bram Stoker with the history of Vlad the Impaler, or the ' bloodthirsty prince '
• Sir Henry Irving, or the ' Knighted Victorian Actor ' has a very important supporting role in my novel, which addresses his connection with Dracula
• I address many other myths, unanswered questions and lore which have surrounded Bram Stoker, Henry Irving, Vlad the Impaler and the origins of Dracula since its publication

Please reach out if have any questions, remarks, or interest in a copy of my novel.
Thanks!