DRACULA (ePub)

Bram Stoker, born Abraham Stoker on November 8, 1847, in Clontarf, Ireland, is often celebrated for his seminal contribution to the Gothic horror genre with his most famous work, 'Dracula' (1897). Stoker's upbringing was marked by a chronic illness that left him bedridden until the age of seven, but he eventually recovered and went on to excel academically and athletically at Trinity College, Dublin. After obtaining his degree, he worked as a civil servant at Dublin Castle and later as manager for the eminent actor Sir Henry Irving, while also establishing himself as a writer. 'Dracula,' his masterpiece, is an epistolary novel that weaves a haunting tale of the eponymous vampire Count Dracula and his fateful encounter with the solicitor Jonathan Harker and Professor Abraham Van Helsing. The book never garnered substantial success during Stoker's lifetime, but posthumously, it became a canonical text in horror literature and spawned innumerable adaptations in various media. Stoker's narrative style in 'Dracula', characterized by its suspenseful atmosphere and integration of contemporary anxieties about sexuality, colonialism, and scientific progress, has been analyzed for its depth and symbolic richness. Despite the overshadowing fame of 'Dracula', Stoker authored other notable works such as 'The Lair of the White Worm' and 'The Jewel of Seven Stars', contributing further to the supernatural and macabre literary landscape. He died on April 20, 1912, but his influence on the horror genre remains undiminished, earning him a distinguished place among literary figures in the annals of horror and supernatural fiction.