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From the Shadow of Dracula: A Life of Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker was a larger-than-life individual with more than a hint of the Transylvanian Count in his personality. This groundbreaking new biography illuminates a multi-faceted man of enormous creativity, and presents Dracula in the context of Stoker’s life and entire fictional output.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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71 people want to read
About the author
Paul A. Murray
7 books3 followersPaul Murray is a writer and Irish diplomat.
Mr. Murray was born in Carlow, Ireland in 1949. He completed his studies at Trinity College, Dublin, where he received a Masters in history and political science.
Mr. Murray is author of biographies on Lafcadio Hearn and Bram Stoker. In 1995 he won the Koizumi Yakumo Literary Prize.
He entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1972 and has since served in London, Tokyo, Ottawa, New York, Paris and Seoul.
From summer 2004 for two years Mr. Murray was the head of the EU Division at the Ministry in Dublin.
Paul Murray was appointed as Permanent Representative of Ireland to the Organization for Economic Co-operation in November 2006.
Mr. Murray was born in Carlow, Ireland in 1949. He completed his studies at Trinity College, Dublin, where he received a Masters in history and political science.
Mr. Murray is author of biographies on Lafcadio Hearn and Bram Stoker. In 1995 he won the Koizumi Yakumo Literary Prize.
He entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1972 and has since served in London, Tokyo, Ottawa, New York, Paris and Seoul.
From summer 2004 for two years Mr. Murray was the head of the EU Division at the Ministry in Dublin.
Paul Murray was appointed as Permanent Representative of Ireland to the Organization for Economic Co-operation in November 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 26, 2017
It’s weird how we make assumptions of authors based upon their work. Jane Austen is clearly the brilliantly sarcastic entity that narrates her novels. Robert Louis Stevenson, in part, reflected the melancholy he portrayed in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He wrote most of it in one lonely incensed sitting, and was inspired by a haunting dream he had. Part of the author is almost always in the book, it’s unavoidable. So, when I used to think of Bram Stoker I imagined a solitary figure, one without family or friends. I imagined him to be quite a powerful person with a dominating personality. Instead, he was quite ordinary. (Oh....the calamity!)
This may sound silly, but I was quite disappointed. This biography is a fairly good piece of writing, though Bram Stoker’s life was nothing but mundane. I guess I just expected more out of him. The inspiration of the character Dracula came from his overbearing employer, an actor named Sir Henry Irving. Stoker was his personal assistant if you like; he sort of lived in his shadow. To my mind, the part of Stoker that went into this book is an obedient type relationship he had with his employer, similar to Renfield’s relationship with the dominating Count. The biographer then attempts to liken Stoker to the Count on several occasions but this, for me, didn’t work. He’d already laid down the inspiration for the character, and created an image of a rather boring Stoker. It came across as a little forced.
Overall, this was a fairly interesting read. But, it was a little packed out. The parts about Stoker’s parents weren’t really necessary and could have been cut out entirely. Contrastingly, the chapters toward the end, which focused on the legacy of the novel, were really quite good. They showed the effect his work had on other writers and the impactful nature of his storytelling. I only recommend this if you already have a massive interest in the author and/or you’re going to be studying his work on an academic level. But for everyone else- YOU SHOULD GO READ DRACULA!
If anyone needs a reason, here’s my review of it: The Mighty Dracula
This may sound silly, but I was quite disappointed. This biography is a fairly good piece of writing, though Bram Stoker’s life was nothing but mundane. I guess I just expected more out of him. The inspiration of the character Dracula came from his overbearing employer, an actor named Sir Henry Irving. Stoker was his personal assistant if you like; he sort of lived in his shadow. To my mind, the part of Stoker that went into this book is an obedient type relationship he had with his employer, similar to Renfield’s relationship with the dominating Count. The biographer then attempts to liken Stoker to the Count on several occasions but this, for me, didn’t work. He’d already laid down the inspiration for the character, and created an image of a rather boring Stoker. It came across as a little forced.
Overall, this was a fairly interesting read. But, it was a little packed out. The parts about Stoker’s parents weren’t really necessary and could have been cut out entirely. Contrastingly, the chapters toward the end, which focused on the legacy of the novel, were really quite good. They showed the effect his work had on other writers and the impactful nature of his storytelling. I only recommend this if you already have a massive interest in the author and/or you’re going to be studying his work on an academic level. But for everyone else- YOU SHOULD GO READ DRACULA!
If anyone needs a reason, here’s my review of it: The Mighty Dracula
November 12, 2015
First class biography of this multifaceted individual. I grew up within a short distance of his home and consequently have always been intrigued by this mild mannered civil servant turned author who found time to be the right hand of Sir Henry Irving for over 30 years. This bio zeros in on the myriad of periphery writings (outside of Dracula) of Stoker which have been greatly ignored by other biographers and Murray successfully uses a excellent examples in those works to provide insight into his character. This can be an dangerous angle to take and so many have tried to do the same with other writers unsuccessfully but here this works as he not only uses many examples to prove a position but does so without getting into grand speculation. This is impressive and while we still have so many questions about the mind that created Dracula as we know him in the past century this certainly adds new light to what was before simple conjecture.
September 5, 2008
A very informative book on Bram, his life and works, family and friends. I would have liked more info on his family and relationships, but I understand there is very little info available for some areas of his life. Bram was a very interesting man and had so many famous friends. And did amazing things. The only thing I think that is very disappointing is that he wasn't around much for his only son and that is very sad.
December 29, 2007
An inspiring look into the life of the man behind the famous Count, whose life was clouded in mystery until recently.
A full & busy life at the centre of London highlife of the 1800's, this excellently researched book makes fine reading for any fan of Dracula & how he came to be.
A full & busy life at the centre of London highlife of the 1800's, this excellently researched book makes fine reading for any fan of Dracula & how he came to be.
Want to read
September 20, 2012currently on p 156 of 320...although I have misplaced it under a toppling tower of books...moving it to the shelved indefinitely shelf.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews