Bram Stoker: Bram Stoker was born on 8 November

29 janvier 2012

Bram Stoker: Bram Stoker was born on 8 November

Bram Stoker:

Bram Stoker was born on 8 November 1847 in Dublin, Ireland. His parents were Abraham Stoker, from Dublin, and Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornley. Stoker was the third of seven children. Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf and attended the parish church with their children, who were baptised there.
Stoker was bed-ridden until he started school at the age of seven, when he made a complete recovery.
After that time, he grew up without further major health issues, even excelling as an athlete (he was named University Athlete) at Trinity College, in Dublin. He graduated with honours in mathematics. He was auditor of the College Historical Society and president of the University Philosophical Society, where his first paper was on "Sensationalism in Fiction and Society".
Stoker became interested in the theatre while a student through a friend, Dr. Maunsell. He became the theatre critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. Stoker also wrote stories, and in 1872 "The Crystal Cup" was published by the London Society, followed by "The Chain of Destiny. Furthermore, he possessed an interest in art, and was a founder of the Dublin Sketching Club in 1874.
In 1878 Stoker married Florence Balcombe, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel James Balcombe of 1 Marino Crescent. She was a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde. Stoker had known Wilde from his student days.
The Stokers moved to London, where Stoker became acting manager and then business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre, a post he held for 27 years. On 31 December 1879, Bram and Florence's only child was born, a son whom they christened Irving Noel Thornley Stoker. Working for Irving, the most famous actor of his time, and managing one of the most successful theatres in London made Stoker a notable if busy man. He was dedicated to Irving and his memoirs show he idolised him. In London Stoker also met Hall Caine who became one of his closest friends - he dedicated Dracula to him.
While manager for Irving, and secretary and director of London's Lyceum Theatre, he began writing novels beginning with The Snake's Pass in 1890 and Dracula in 1897. Before writing Dracula, Stoker spent several years researching European folklore and mythological stories of vampires.
According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, Stoker's stories are today included within the categories of "horror fiction," "romanticized Gothic" stories, and "melodrama. They are classified alongside other "works of popular fiction" such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
After suffering a number of strokes, Stoker died at No. 26 St George's Square in 1912. He was cremated, and his ashes placed in a display urn at Golders Green Crematorium.