Bram Stoker author page

Bram Stoker biography

Bram Stoker was an Irish author best known for his 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula, which established many conventions of modern vampire fiction. Born Abraham Stoker on November 8, 1847, in Clontarf, Dublin, he overcame a childhood illness that left him bedridden for several years before attending Trinity College Dublin, where he studied mathematics and became active in drama and athletics.

After university, Stoker worked as a civil servant in Dublin and also contributed reviews and articles to newspapers. His positive review of an actor’s performance led to a lifelong friendship with Sir Henry Irving, one of the leading actors of the era. In 1878, Stoker moved to London to become Irving’s business manager at the Lyceum Theatre, a position he held for nearly three decades. During this time, he traveled extensively and met many prominent figures of the day, including Walt Whitman and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Stoker wrote several novels, short stories, and nonfiction works, but Dracula remains his most influential and enduring publication. The novel is structured as an epistolary narrative and introduces the character Count Dracula, blending folklore, superstition, and contemporary Victorian anxieties. Although not an immediate bestseller, the book gained popularity over time and has since inspired countless adaptations in literature, film, and other media.

Stoker continued to write until his death on April 20, 1912. His other works include The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903), The Lair of the White Worm (1911), and Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906). While his literary legacy is primarily defined by Dracula, his broader body of work reflects his interest in history, the supernatural, and the evolving scientific and cultural ideas of his time.