Abraham Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland on the 8th of November 1847, the third of seven children.
His early years were plagued with such ill-health that he was unable to start school until the age of seven. He turned the long periods of recovery into an opportunity for thinking and said “I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years”.
Strikingly at Trinity College, Dublin his health had returned with such vigour that he was named their University Athlete whilst also achieving a BA in Mathematics with honours.
At this time his interest in theatre became a job offer to be the Dublin Evening Mail's theatre critic, co-owned by Sheridan Le Fanu. He now began to also write short stories and in 1872 `The Crystal Cup' was published. An interest in art developed and he co-founded the Dublin Sketching Club.
In 1878 came marriage to Florence Balcombe. She had formerly been courted by Stoker's acquaintance, Oscar Wilde. The marriage produced one child.
Stoker had some years before reviewed Henry Irving's Hamlet and had dined with him. That friendship now resulted in a proposal from Irving to move to London and to manage his Lyceum Theatre. His numerous commercial innovations ensured both he and the theatre thrived. Irving would also often take Stoker with him when he toured abroad.
Despite this busy life Stoker continued to write and these works paved the way for his most famous creation, published in 1897, `Dracula'. It is rightly recognised as one of the greatest horror novels of all time and although not the first with a theme of Vampires, it is undoubtedly the most well-known.
Stoker also wrote poetry and many excellent short stories and continued to write novels and other works throughout his career.
Politically Stoker supported Home Rule, though only by peaceful means. He was also keen on following scientific trends particularly in medicine.
In 1902 his tenure at the Lyceum Theatre ended and although he continued to write his health was deteriorating, mainly due to a series of debilitating strokes.
Bram Stoker died on the 20th April 1912, in Pimlico, London. He was 64.
1 - Bram Stoker - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction
2 - Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker
3 - The Squaw by Bram Stoker
4 - The Judge's House by Bram Stoker
5 - The Secret of the Growing Gold by Bram Stoker
6 - The Burial of the Rats by Bram Stoker
