1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Since October felt a little light on the 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 1: Halloween episodes this year, and since his name came up 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: in our discussions of Horace Walpole, today we are returning 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 1: to our episode on Bram Stoker, Oh Bram. This originally 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: came out October nineteenth, twenty twenty. Enjoy Welcome to Stuff 6 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, 7 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frye and I'm 8 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: Tracy B. Wilson. So Tracy. The story that begins with 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: Jonathan Harker's travels to Transylvania on a business trip to 10 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: complete a real estate deal. This one almost everybody knows. 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: If I tell you that phrase, you would say, I 12 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: would say Dracula, right, because Dracula is iconic, And we 13 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: have talked about Dracula on several episodes of this podcast, 14 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: when we talked about the lives of Christopher Lee and 15 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: FW Murnow and Bela Lugosi and Dwight fry And it 16 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: seems like we must have talked about the life of 17 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: Bram Stoker before. Yeah, we have not. No, we had 18 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: a whole conversation where you were like, I can't believe 19 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: we haven't done this, and I was like, but we did, though, no, 20 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: we definitely it has come up. I feel like what's 21 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: come up more than Bram Stoker himself is his estate 22 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: and his widow not giving people permission to adapt his work. 23 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: But really we have not talked about him at all. 24 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: This is a case where once I started getting into 25 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: the research, after you and I had that discussion, I 26 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: knew we had not talked about it at all because 27 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: there's part of his story I one hundred percent would 28 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: have remembered and have been texting all of my friends 29 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: about for the last several days leading up to this recording. 30 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: So today we are going to talk about Bram Stoker. 31 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: Abraham Stoker was born on November eighth, eighteen forty seven. 32 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: His parents lived in the Klontarf suburb of Dublin, Ireland. 33 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: His father was also named Abraham Stoker. His mother was 34 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: Charlotte Matilda Blake Thornley Stoker and this was a large family. 35 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: Brahm had two siblings when he was born, and the 36 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,839 Speaker 1: Stokers had another four more children after him. And as 37 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: a child, Bram, who was still going by Abraham at 38 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,959 Speaker 1: that age, but to separate from his dad, will go 39 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: ahead and go to his adopted name of Brown. Was 40 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: not healthy. He was confined to his bed or wherever 41 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: an adult would carry him for the first seven years 42 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: of his life. And we don't actually know what the 43 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: nature of this illness was, and there have been all 44 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: kinds of theories, from it possibly having been some sort 45 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: of a fever, to a psychological element being part of it, 46 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,399 Speaker 1: possibly a trauma of some kind, but this is absolutely 47 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: all speculation. We do not know what was up here. 48 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: Most biographers make the case that this early phase of 49 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: Stoker's life definitely influenced everything that came afterward. Ram's mother 50 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: told him about the cholera epidemic that she had lived through, 51 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: and specifically people being buried alive. His father would tell 52 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 1: him family stories, including military battles, and also described plays 53 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: that he had seen. All of this seated Stoker's imagination, 54 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: and he had a lot of time alone with his 55 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: thoughts since he couldn't really get up and go play 56 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: with his siblings and his peers. But despite this early 57 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 1: start in this mystery ailment, Stoker made a full recovery. 58 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: Biographer Barbara Belford, who is one of several biographers that 59 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: wrote about him, mentions how very odd it is that 60 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: Stoker never gave any detail of his illness in his 61 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: writing about himself. This was not a family that was 62 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: ignorant of medical matters. His uncle, William Stoker was the 63 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: family doctor. He also had three brothers who became doctors. 64 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: But the truth of those early years seems to have 65 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: been obscured and lost to time. Although a lot lot 66 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: of scholars of Stoker's work have scoured his writing for clues, 67 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: like anytime he mentions a child being ill, are they like, 68 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: is this a reference to his youth? But details regarding 69 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: the end of his illness are as murky as the 70 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: illnesses itself. He would later write, quote, this early weakness 71 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,719 Speaker 1: passed away, and I grew into a strong boy in time, 72 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: in large to the biggest member of my family. In 73 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty four, when Stoker was seventeen, he enrolled at 74 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 1: Trinity College at the University of Dublin, And while he 75 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: may have started life in pretty poor health as a 76 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: college student, he was actually really athletic. He was an 77 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:40,039 Speaker 1: accomplished gymnast and a rugby player. He also participated in 78 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: endurance race walking. He won prizes in five and seven 79 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: mile walks. He also cut up pretty striking figure. He 80 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: was six foot two with red hair, and he was popular, 81 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: invited to join both the Historical Society and the Philosophical Society, 82 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: and he was elected to positions of responsibility in each 83 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: of them. His time at Trinity overlapped with that of 84 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: Oscar Wilde, who was younger than Stoker. The two of 85 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: them knew each other, and Bram had actually nominated wild 86 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 1: for membership of the Philosophical Society. Yeah, that's an interesting overlap. 87 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: It will come up again in just a bit. So 88 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: here's the thing. Stoker's performance in school did not really 89 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: hint to his future legacy. While he excelled at sports, 90 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,280 Speaker 1: he was kind of an average student academically. But he 91 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,039 Speaker 1: was writing essays and papers about things that sparked his 92 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: interest in his societal participations, including ones titled Sensationalism in 93 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: Fiction and Society and the Necessity for Political Honesty. In 94 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,720 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy, he graduated from Trinity. He would later say 95 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: he graduated with honors in mathematics. This is untrue. Trinity 96 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: College actually has a biography of him, and they're like, 97 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: we don't know where he got this. If you're wondering 98 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: about it taking six years for him to earn a 99 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: bachelor's degree. That's because he was also for all but 100 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: the first two years of that schooling, Stoker took a 101 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,479 Speaker 1: civil service job at Dublin Castle thanks to an assist 102 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: from his father, who had also worked there as a 103 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: civil servant until his retirement in eighteen sixty five. So 104 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: he was working six and a half days a week 105 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: while also taking classes. So at that point six years 106 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: is fast to me. Yes, me as well. And it's 107 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: one of those things where it's almost like this sets 108 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: the stage for his whole life of just being constantly 109 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 1: working on a lot of things and making time for 110 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: more things than anyone human should fit in a day. 111 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: But after he finished school, he continued in his civil 112 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: service position, although he also continued to be interested in literature. 113 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: In his last years of school, Stoker became somewhat obsessed 114 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: with Walt Whitman, and that deep interest in the man 115 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: in his work continued long after graduation from Trinity. In 116 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: February eighteen seventy two, Stoker wrote Whitman a two thousand 117 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: word letter in which he said, among others things, quote, 118 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: you have shaken off the shackles, and your wings are free. 119 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: I have the shackles on my shoulder still, but I 120 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: have no wings. Stoker's letter continues on to describe himself 121 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: and detail including the sorts of things that a person 122 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: today might normally share, maybe with a therapist, including how 123 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 1: he chose to interact with people, as well as the 124 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: sort of things he might tell a pen pal, and 125 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: then it concluded with quote, now I have told you 126 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: all I know about myself. Stoker didn't actually mail this 127 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: letter to Whitman, though, instead he left it in his 128 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: desk for the next four years, intending to make a 129 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: clean copy to send. This is a level of procrastination 130 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: I feel like I can experience in my life. I 131 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: think we all can. There's also the possibility, and again 132 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: this is a matter of speculation that some people have 133 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: theorized that he recognized how sort of raw and familiar 134 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: this letter was, and like, while that may have been 135 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: his truest feelings, he was also a little trepidacious about 136 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: actually sharing it, Like, maybe I shouldn't send this to someone, right, 137 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: Maybe I don't even want to acknowledge that I just 138 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: wrote all of these things to my literary hero, because 139 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: that's weird. We'll talk more about of this whole thing 140 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: on Friday. But after a gathering at which Whitman's work 141 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: was criticized and rebutted in eighteen seventy six, and we 142 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: should point out that, you know, Whitman was controversial in 143 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: his time. There were poems, for example, that were part 144 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: of Leaves of Grass that were left out of some 145 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: publications of that work, particularly in Britain. There was a 146 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: lot of discussion about whether his work was appropriate in 147 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: some cases. But at that gathering Stoker provided the defense 148 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: position of the poet, and afterwards he wrote another letter 149 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: to Walt Whitman, similarly familiar and kind of intimate, where 150 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: he talked about having defended him because he thinks he 151 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: is such a great man. And this time he actually 152 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: mailed it as well as that one that had sat 153 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: in his desk drawer all of the intervening time. And 154 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 1: Whitman got these letters and replied that he hoped that 155 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: the two of them would one day meet, and he 156 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: commented on the unconventional, manly and affectionate way in which 157 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: Stoker had addressed him. Those are all adjectives that I 158 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: am quoting from Witmen regarding Bram Stoker's writing, Yeah, if 159 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,679 Speaker 1: you want to know more about Walt Whitman in his writing, 160 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: we have a previous episode on him that I feel 161 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: like has been a Saturday classic. Not that long ago, 162 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: but it has been long ago enough ago since we 163 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: recorded it that I have no recollection. If it mentions 164 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: Bram Stoker in any way, I don't think so, because 165 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: I think I would have remembered that. Uh So. Anyway, 166 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: Whitman had been particularly delighted in all this by a 167 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: passage in which Stoker called him the quote father, brother, 168 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: and wife to his soul. Whitman later told a friend 169 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: that he felt that Stoker had actually been writing to 170 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,840 Speaker 1: himself and kind of working through his own thoughts, and 171 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: that he felt compelled to respond to the young man. 172 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: Although Stoker had hoped that Whitman might one day travel 173 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: to Ireland and they could meet, Whitman's health at the 174 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 1: time kept that from ever happening. Yeah, he was not 175 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: able to travel, But don't give up on that thought. 176 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: This writing. These letters to Walt Whitman are the only 177 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,560 Speaker 1: instances of writing from Stoker's youth where he speaks so 178 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: openly about himself and his inner world. He tends to 179 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:29,599 Speaker 1: kind of keep his private thoughts private for most of 180 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: the rest of his writing, so they have become a 181 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 1: really important part of his history. In eighteen seventy six, 182 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 1: Stoker was promoted into the newly created position of Inspector 183 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: of Courts of Petty Sessions, and this many had a 184 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: travel to various municipalities and audit their small claims courts. 185 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: Three years into the job, he published a book on 186 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: this subject called The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions 187 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: in Ireland. Bless him. This sounds dull as dirt. I mean, 188 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,079 Speaker 1: it's literally like going to a court and hearing people 189 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: talk about things. In one biography they mentioned him sitting 190 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:09,200 Speaker 1: in on hearings about things like dog licenses, you know, 191 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: neighbors complaining against one another. But meanwhile, while working in 192 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: his civil service job by day and probably finding it 193 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: a little less than intellectually stimulating, Stoker started a side 194 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: hustle in the evenings as a writer on more interesting topics. 195 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: He first wrote theater reviews. He did not get paid 196 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: for these, but he did create a significant change at 197 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: the Dublin Evening Mail in working on them. Up to 198 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 1: that point, theater reviews normally published two days after the 199 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: show that was being reviewed, so if you went to 200 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: a show on Friday night, the review of it would 201 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,679 Speaker 1: appear Sunday. But Stoker, who again was a very busy 202 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: bee and would pack a lot of work into any day, 203 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: instigated a shift so that next day reviews would run 204 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: at the paper, so if you saw that Friday show, 205 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 1: the review would run on the Saturday morning. And learning 206 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 1: the discipline of writing and doing this on a deadline 207 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: enabled him to turn his pen to more creative efforts, 208 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,439 Speaker 1: and he started writing short stories as well. In eighteen 209 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 1: seventy two, he had actually already published the first of 210 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: his short stories that was one called The Crystal Cup, 211 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,199 Speaker 1: but in the late eighteen seventies he also started editing 212 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: a fiction magazine. In eighteen seventy five, he published a 213 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: novella over several installments in the periodical The Shamrock. That 214 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,640 Speaker 1: story is called The Primrose Path and was published under 215 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: the name A Stoker Esquire that unfolds over ten chapters. 216 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: This is a morality tale about the dangers of alcohol, 217 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: and it tells the story of a carpenter from Dublin 218 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 1: who moves to London and becomes an alcoholic, which ultimately 219 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,320 Speaker 1: leads to misery, so much misery. It's a very dark, 220 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: dark story in many ways. In late eighteen seventy six, 221 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,839 Speaker 1: Bram Stoker wrote a theater review that changed the course 222 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: of his life. And we're going to talk about that 223 00:12:52,720 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: after we first pause for a sponsor break. As we 224 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: said before the break. In eighteen seventy six, Bram Stoker 225 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,679 Speaker 1: wrote a review. This review was of Henry Irving's performance 226 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: as Hamlet, and it was glowing. Bram was already something 227 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: of a Henry Irving fan. He had seen the famous 228 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 1: actor on stage for the first time in eighteen sixty seven, 229 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: when he had attended a performance of The Rivals in Dublin, 230 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: and he had when he saw that first performance, been 231 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: thinking about a career in acting himself. And Irving asked 232 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,959 Speaker 1: Stoker out to dinner as a thank you for this. 233 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,439 Speaker 1: This was a start of a long and very close friendship. 234 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: Henry Irving became a pivotal figure in Bram Stoker's life. 235 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: So it's worth giving his biography a little attention, just 236 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:48,280 Speaker 1: for context. So Irving was born John Henry Broadribb in Somerset, England, 237 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,320 Speaker 1: on February sixth eighteen thirty eight, and when he was 238 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:53,679 Speaker 1: six his parents moved to Bristol, where his father had 239 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: found a new job, but they left John Henry with 240 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 1: an aunt and uncle in Cornwall rather than moving him 241 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:01,480 Speaker 1: to a city. He did rejoin his parents a few 242 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: years later in London at the age of ten. He 243 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:06,440 Speaker 1: started work as a clerk as a young man, but 244 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: really always wanted a life in the theater, so with 245 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: financial assistance from a relative, he started purchasing costumes and wigs, 246 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,680 Speaker 1: and then he bought a role for himself in a 247 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: local production of Romeo and Juliet. He appeared in that 248 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: as Henry Irving. From there he started working with stock 249 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,840 Speaker 1: companies as a bit performer and was in hundreds of 250 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 1: shows touring at Great Britain. Yeah, I read one statistic 251 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: that said something like over the course of three years 252 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: he was in four hundred different roles, so he was 253 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: doing a lot of very small bit players kind of acting. 254 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,119 Speaker 1: Irving really started gating recognition in the mid eighteen sixties 255 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: and in eighteen seventy one he became very famous for 256 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: his appearance in The Bells at the Lyceum Theater. He 257 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: appeared at the Lyceum as the star of the company 258 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: for the next several years, and it was in late 259 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy six that he starred in Hamlet, which was 260 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: of course reviewed by Bram Stoker for the Dublin Evening Mail, 261 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: and after reading that review in the morning, Irving wanted 262 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: to have dinner with Stoker that very evening. The two 263 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: men wrote letters to one another for several years, and 264 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy seven Irving made a move that really 265 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: changed Sooker's life. He purchased the Lyceum Theater in London 266 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: and asked Stoker to be its manager. Irving would work 267 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: as the director of the productions and of course also 268 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: star in them, and then Stoker would handle the business, 269 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,680 Speaker 1: from tickets to press releases and managing the staff. This 270 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: was a really big ask. Henry Irving was the most 271 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: famous actor in late nineteenth century England, and he was 272 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: also known to be intense and demanding and uncompromising. And 273 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: Bram Stoker, who adored Irving, didn't think twice about it. 274 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: He bidded you to Ireland and his civil service job 275 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 1: to start anew as Henry Irving's business manager. Essentially, in 276 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy eight, and this job was not a hobby job, 277 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 1: so the two of them could hang out. The lycee 278 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: him was large, with a seating capacity of two thousand, 279 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: and it was a social hub for London society in 280 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 1: addition to all the regular business of his position, entertaining 281 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: the illustrious patrons of the theater after shows with luxurious 282 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: dinners that also fell under Stoker's job description. This is 283 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: a gigantic job for one person, yes it is. In 284 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: doing this though he met numerous luminaries, including Mark Twain, 285 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Prime Minister Gladstone. This is 286 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: so much work, and despite these long hours demanded of 287 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: this job, Stoker still found time to write. And this 288 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 1: was on top of the fact that he was writing 289 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 1: several dozen letters a day on behalf of Henry Irving, 290 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: so handling both his business correspondents and his personal correspondence 291 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: and things like fan mail. Somehow, while doing all of this, 292 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: Stoker also got married in eighteen seventy eight to Florence Balcolm. 293 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: Florence was eleven year years younger than he was and 294 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: was pretty outgoing, whereas he was more shy and reserved 295 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,879 Speaker 1: her claim to historical fame is being the exquisitely pretty 296 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: girl that Oscar Wilde fell in love with, and she 297 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: didn't apparently tell wild that she had married his friend 298 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:21,200 Speaker 1: from Trinity. While he was off traveling, Oscar Wilde wrote 299 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,679 Speaker 1: her a letter that he wished to have a gold 300 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,640 Speaker 1: crossback that he had given to her because it represented 301 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: the sweetest time of his youth. She told him that 302 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: he could come to their home and get it, but 303 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: he thought that would be inappropriate and ask that they 304 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:38,040 Speaker 1: meet at her parents' home instead. And Florence, for her part, 305 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:41,199 Speaker 1: also wanted something back. She wanted all of the letters 306 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: that she had sent Oscar Wilde when they were corresponding 307 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,120 Speaker 1: and courting. It is unclear if these things were ever 308 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: exchanged and given back to each other. This whole interaction, 309 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: and this sort of triangle of relationships, is often summarized 310 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,600 Speaker 1: as Florence having the choice to marry either Bram Stoker 311 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,719 Speaker 1: or Oscar Wilde. But while Oscar Wilde, in his writing 312 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: to her, does seem to have really been hurt by 313 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: Florence marrying his friend, there's no evidence that he was 314 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: ever suggesting that he should be her husband or that 315 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: they should get married, and Wild and Stoker did remain 316 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,840 Speaker 1: friends despite this whole thing. Bram and Florence had one child, 317 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:21,359 Speaker 1: a son named Nol, and that was the first year 318 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,639 Speaker 1: after they were married. Maybe in response to finding himself 319 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: a father. In eighteen eighty one, Stoker published a book 320 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: of children's stories called Under the Sunset. There didn't seem 321 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: to be a lot of discord in the Stoker marriage, 322 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: but there also didn't seem to be that much closeness 323 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: or devotion between them either. No, they did a lot 324 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 1: of stuff separately. Stoker was a man who valued efficiency 325 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:48,919 Speaker 1: and organization, and he was absolutely excellent at managing Irving's 326 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,960 Speaker 1: every need at the theater, and he seemed to put 327 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: his job and Irving ahead of everything else in his life, 328 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: including his own family. For example, the newlywed Stokers even 329 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 1: gift to honeymoon instead. Bram and Florence had traveled to 330 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: Birmingham so Bram could work. Stoker had not even told 331 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,960 Speaker 1: his boss that he was getting married. In eighteen eighty three, 332 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,640 Speaker 1: the Lyceum Theater mounted a tour in North America. Stoker 333 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: managed all of the logistics, so the first of many 334 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 1: such tours, and Stoker collected his experiences into a travelogue 335 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: called A Glimpse of America that came out in eighteen 336 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: eighty six. On these travels to the US, Stoker met 337 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:33,520 Speaker 1: two presidents, McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt, and more importantly, he 338 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,879 Speaker 1: was finally able to meet Walt Whitman. And at this 339 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: point these two writers had been trading letters for years, 340 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: so there was a pretty easy friendship to their meeting. 341 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,680 Speaker 1: Although descriptions kind of make it sound like Stoker was 342 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: initially a little nervous, there was one blemish to mar 343 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:53,360 Speaker 1: this beautiful occasion, though Henry Irving had insisted on going 344 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: to meet Walt Whitman as well, so Stoker felt a 345 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,479 Speaker 1: little bit cheated of the intimate conversation that he had 346 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: dreamed of having with his idol. Witman noted also that 347 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: Stoker had switched from going by Abraham Stoker to Bram Stoker, 348 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 1: and he did not particularly like that shift in name. 349 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,360 Speaker 1: He just didn't think it was very dignified. But overall 350 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:14,959 Speaker 1: it was a really, really good meeting, and Stoker declared 351 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,880 Speaker 1: Walt Whitman to be quote a man amongst men. During 352 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,959 Speaker 1: the eighteen nineties, Stoker was still publishing novels, including The 353 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: Waters Moot and that features star crossed lovers as part 354 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: of the story. There's also The Shoulder of Shasta, which 355 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,399 Speaker 1: is a romance set in northern California. Even as these 356 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: books were being published, he was also working on what 357 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:40,360 Speaker 1: would become his masterpiece, Dracula. While Bram Stoker was normally 358 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,120 Speaker 1: a very fast writer, Dracula took him far longer than 359 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: his previous novels. He wrote it over the course of 360 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,199 Speaker 1: seven years, perhaps even longer, but that's how long we know. 361 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: He was working on it while he was touring with 362 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: Irving and working on other writing projects. We'll talk a 363 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: little more about some of the research that went into 364 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 1: the most famous of Stockeker's books after we first take 365 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 1: a break for a word from the sponsors that keeps 366 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:15,439 Speaker 1: stuffymuths in history class going. If you look at the 367 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:19,440 Speaker 1: notes that Stoker compiled as he was assembling his Vampiric Tale, 368 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:23,360 Speaker 1: it becomes really apparent that he was, as we mentioned earlier, meticulous. 369 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:28,160 Speaker 1: He had carefully plotted out Jonathan Harker's journey to Transylvania 370 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:32,440 Speaker 1: by train, using actual train schedules and only using connections 371 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,479 Speaker 1: that he believed would have actually worked, and he created 372 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: a table of all of the correspondents that would appear 373 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: in the book to ensure that the dates that they 374 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,199 Speaker 1: posted and the dates that they would arrive in the 375 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: recipient's hands was realistic. It also seems as though all 376 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: of his work running a theater and tours kind of 377 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:52,600 Speaker 1: informed the way he constructed narrative. He also was a 378 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: writer who really believed in research, and his work researching 379 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: what would become the novel Dracula is really deeply associate 380 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: with the town of Whitby, England's on the country's east coast. 381 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,680 Speaker 1: He is said to have visited a library in Whitby 382 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: to look at a specific selection of the Special Collections 383 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: title by William Wilkinson, which is an account of the 384 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia with various political observations relating 385 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 1: to them. It is from this book that he is 386 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 1: said to have learned of the name Dracula in relation 387 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 1: to vlad Tapesh. Prior to this, Stoker was planning to 388 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:33,159 Speaker 1: name his villainous character Count Vampier. This was a rare book. 389 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: It's an odd thing for Stoker to have just known about, 390 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: but a friend he knew from his theater circle Arminius 391 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,560 Speaker 1: van Berry had told him about the story of the 392 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: Wilachean count and the book that he could find it in. Yeah, 393 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:51,200 Speaker 1: it piece of knowledge. It's a very strange thing, right. 394 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,440 Speaker 1: I can only imagine as a librarian having someone walk 395 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 1: in and be like, hey, you know that rare book 396 00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:59,359 Speaker 1: that you don't even tell people you have. I would 397 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 1: like to see it. I mean, it's literally that strange. 398 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: Stoker then visited the Whitby Museum to work on that 399 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,400 Speaker 1: route that we mentioned a moment ago for Harker to take, 400 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,920 Speaker 1: including making notes about latitude and longitude, and next Stoker 401 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,719 Speaker 1: consulted with the Royal Coast Guard at the nearby harbor 402 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: and discussed the topic they would figure prominently in the 403 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 1: story of Dracula. In eighteen eighty five, the ship Dmitri 404 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,159 Speaker 1: had left the port of Narva in Estonia and had 405 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: run aground near Whitby. According to the locals, only a 406 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: few members of the crew survived, and there was a 407 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: black dog that emerged from the ship and ran off 408 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: while rescue efforts were underway. The Dmitri had been carrying 409 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:44,680 Speaker 1: crates of silver sand that may sound mysterious, but silver 410 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,120 Speaker 1: sand is actually a fine white sand that is commonly 411 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:52,159 Speaker 1: used in construction mortar. But if you've read Dracula, that 412 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 1: might sound familiar, but not exactly the way you remember it. 413 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 1: Stoker borrowed the story of the Dmitri for the novel, 414 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: making the show the conveyance of Count Dracula from his 415 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,159 Speaker 1: home country to London, but in the fictional version the 416 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 1: name is changed to the Demeter, which also invokes the 417 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,359 Speaker 1: Greek goddess and its associations with the cycle of life 418 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 1: and death, and Narva changes to Varna, Bulgaria as the 419 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: departure point for the ship. In Stoker's fictionalized version, the 420 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: silver sand remains, but the ship is also filled with 421 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: crates of earth from Count Dracula's homeland, and then, of course, 422 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,440 Speaker 1: the black Dog becomes an embodiment of the vampire himself. 423 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,679 Speaker 1: Stoker's research wasn't confined to Whitby. He continued to consult 424 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: the library regularly to make notes that would contribute to 425 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,399 Speaker 1: Dracula once he was back in London, but Whitby is 426 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: very closely associated with the book at this point. Vampire 427 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 1: stories long predated Dracula, and like there are vampire like 428 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: entities like all over the world in various mythology and 429 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,680 Speaker 1: folklore and fiction. But Stoker's version of vamporism is really 430 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:01,600 Speaker 1: what we've come to know as like the classic vampire tropes, 431 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: the vampire being able to shape shift into animals, the 432 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: count suddenly becoming almost crazed with thirst when Harker cuts 433 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: himself shaving, and the vampire needing to be invited into 434 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:16,159 Speaker 1: a home. All that's present here in the nineteen oh 435 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: one Icelandic edition of Dracula, titled Macht Mirkrana, which translates 436 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: to Powers of Darkness. The preface that Stoker wrote includes 437 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: insistence that the events relayed in the Dracula story are true, 438 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,840 Speaker 1: writing quote, I am quite convinced that there is no 439 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: doubt whatever that the events here described really took place, 440 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:39,720 Speaker 1: however unbelievable and incomprehensible they might appear at first sight, 441 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 1: and I am further convinced that they must always remain 442 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 1: to some extent incomprehensible, although continuing research in psychology and 443 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: natural sciences may in years to come give logical explanation 444 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: of such strange happenings, which at present neither scientists nor 445 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:00,480 Speaker 1: the secret police can understand. I state again that this 446 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 1: mysterious tragedy which is here described is completely true in 447 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: all its external respects, though naturally I have reached a 448 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,880 Speaker 1: different conclusion on certain points than those involved in the story. 449 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 1: But the events are incontrovertible, and so many people know 450 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:19,080 Speaker 1: of them that they cannot be denied. So this has 451 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: led to all kinds of speculation since it came out 452 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: about whether Stoker was referencing Jack the Ripper here. The 453 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 1: Icelandic version of the book is different from the originally 454 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 1: published version, though having been abridged quite a bit. When 455 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: it was translated back into English in twenty fourteen, it 456 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: became really apparent that the original translator of Stoker's work 457 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:46,679 Speaker 1: into Icelandic, Vladimir Asmundsen, had reworked the plot significantly and 458 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: created a very different story. I remember when the English 459 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:55,639 Speaker 1: speaking world found out about this and was like, what, Yeah, 460 00:26:55,680 --> 00:27:00,480 Speaker 1: it's actually really good if anybody wants to if you 461 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,119 Speaker 1: seek it out. I think right now, as we record 462 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:06,960 Speaker 1: this in October twenty twenty, if you have an Amazon 463 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:09,680 Speaker 1: Prime account, I think you can download the Kindle version 464 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 1: for free, and Audible has the audio version available as 465 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 1: a freebie, and it's really quite delightful, and if you 466 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: are a person who loves Dracula, it's very interesting because 467 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:22,880 Speaker 1: there are characters you have never seen before in the story. 468 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 1: There are events play out very differently. Some things are condensed, 469 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: some things are gone completely, and it's just a new 470 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,240 Speaker 1: way to experience this piece of lore. Yeah. I also 471 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:36,760 Speaker 1: feel like I should just clarify that most people in 472 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:40,880 Speaker 1: Iceland also speak English. When I say the English speaking world, 473 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 1: I mean like places like the United States in Britain. Yes. 474 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,679 Speaker 1: When Dracula was originally published in eighteen ninety seven, it 475 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,159 Speaker 1: was really well received, but it really didn't hint that 476 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 1: the global long reaching popularity it would eventually achieve. It 477 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:57,720 Speaker 1: was kind of like, you know if you see a 478 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 1: movie and it's like a great movie that year, but 479 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,160 Speaker 1: you don't think, like, oh, this is going to launch 480 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,959 Speaker 1: a kajillion things. Stoker's mother, Charlotte, is said to have 481 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 1: quite liked it and actually believed it would be a 482 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,440 Speaker 1: huge success and be one of the things for which 483 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,719 Speaker 1: her son would be remembered. Publishers in the United States 484 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,920 Speaker 1: were not initially interested in this story, so Stoker actually 485 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,880 Speaker 1: purchased the US copyright for himself. The first American edition 486 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,439 Speaker 1: of the book appeared in eighteen ninety nine. Analysis of 487 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: the text alongside Stoker's life story has sometimes led people 488 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: to believe that Dracula as a character is based at 489 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 1: least partially on Henry Irving and his demanding nature. It's 490 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:41,200 Speaker 1: also possible that rather than modeling it on Irving, Stoker 491 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 1: was kind of thinking about how Irving could play the 492 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 1: count in a stage version of the story that actually 493 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 1: did not work out. Stoker had arranged a reading of 494 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: the Dracula story in play form at the Theater before 495 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:58,480 Speaker 1: the novel came out. Irving declared it dreadful the fool. 496 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: At this point in time, the Lyceum was faltering. The 497 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,640 Speaker 1: plays that they staged were not doing as well as 498 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 1: they once had, and Stoker thought that Dracula might be 499 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 1: an opportunity to regain some interest in financial footing for 500 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 1: the business. But Irving would not have it, and then 501 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 1: the theater had a fire. The building was not destroyed, 502 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 1: but they lost a lot of their stock, props, and scenery. 503 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: It was expensive and messy as all of these problems 504 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 1: piled up, and the Lyceum had to enter into a 505 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: receivership so that its assets could be liquidated to cover 506 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:36,520 Speaker 1: its debts. The productions continued, although in less grand stagings 507 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: than the theater had once seen. Henry Irving gave his 508 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,680 Speaker 1: last performance in October nineteen oh five. He died that night, 509 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 1: just after returning to his hotel. Stoker got there soon 510 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: after his friend had collapsed, but it was too late 511 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:54,200 Speaker 1: to save his life. After Irving's death, Bram Stoker wrote 512 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 1: about his own life and his long business partnership and 513 00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: friendship with Irving in a two volume book titled per 514 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: Reminiscences of Henry Irving. This was Stoker's most popular work 515 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 1: in his lifetime. Although this was not some scandalous reveal 516 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:12,120 Speaker 1: of the man behind the public face Brahm. Stoker wrote 517 00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 1: of Irving in the most positive adulation, soaked way imaginable. 518 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,640 Speaker 1: At this point, Stoker was without the job that had 519 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,960 Speaker 1: required all of his attention for so many years, and 520 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,760 Speaker 1: so he turned to writing full time. From nineteen oh 521 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 1: five to nineteen eleven, he published several short stories and 522 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,320 Speaker 1: novels in addition to his Irving memoir. The last of 523 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,800 Speaker 1: these was The Lair of the White Worm. It's a 524 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:38,160 Speaker 1: very strange horror tale with a lot going on in 525 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 1: terms of plot threads, including a story about Mongoose's. Yeah, 526 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,760 Speaker 1: there's a whole lot going on in that some of 527 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 1: it is very outdated in terms of how different people 528 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:53,120 Speaker 1: so the world's are perceived. In his last year, Stoker 529 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: found himself financially strapped. He did some more theater management 530 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: to make ends meet, but primarily he continued to focus 531 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: on writing. Dracula continued to be popular enough to earn 532 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 1: some royalties, and Stoker also wrote a bit as a 533 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 1: journalist for the Daily Chronicle, profiling notable figures of the day. 534 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 1: He also did something that seems a little bit odd, 535 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: which is that he took up the flag of censorship, 536 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 1: as in he was pro censorship. He advocated for banning 537 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 1: inappropriate books and writing that quote, A close analysis will 538 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:26,960 Speaker 1: show that the only emotions which, in the long run 539 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:31,600 Speaker 1: harm are those arising from sex impulses. During that time, 540 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:34,560 Speaker 1: his health also declined. He had a series of strokes 541 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:37,280 Speaker 1: starting in nineteen oh six, and in nineteen ten he 542 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: had what he described as a breakdown from overwork. I 543 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: was on a petition for a grant from the Royal 544 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:49,720 Speaker 1: Literary Fund and nineteen eleven. Continually dwindling finances led Brahm 545 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: and Florence to move into a more modest apartment. They 546 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:54,720 Speaker 1: left the one that had been their home in London 547 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 1: for more than three decades. Bram Stoker died at the 548 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: age of sixty four in nineteen twelve. That was the 549 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:04,520 Speaker 1: same week that the Titanic sank. In the days leading 550 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 1: up to his passing, he had, like all of London, 551 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: been transfixed by the story of the ship's demise and 552 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,720 Speaker 1: the investigation that was soon to begin. Even in death, 553 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: Stoker left something of a mystery. There are three causes 554 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:23,440 Speaker 1: of death listed. They are kidney disease, exhaustion, and locomotor ataxia. 555 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 1: So that last one, locomotor ataxia, was generally used as 556 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 1: a synonym for tertiary syphilis, and that, of course has 557 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: led to all kinds of speculation about various, usually salacious 558 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 1: ways that he could have contracted syphilis. But looking at 559 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 1: all of his symptoms and his behavior leading up to 560 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,360 Speaker 1: his death, that doesn't really add up. It's possible that 561 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 1: he was misdiagnosed due to some of the lingering effects 562 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 1: of the strokes he had had, but we will not 563 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:55,840 Speaker 1: ever really know. Yeah, I have read some biographers are like, 564 00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 1: we're not even sure why the coroner put multiple causes 565 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:03,479 Speaker 1: of death when just saying kidney disease would have covered it. 566 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: But this fascination with the possibility that Stoker could have 567 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: had ciphilists is really part of a much bigger speculation 568 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:14,400 Speaker 1: that has gone on for over a century about the 569 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:18,000 Speaker 1: author's sexuality. And he seems in so many ways to 570 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: be a tangle of repression and confusion regarding sexuality and 571 00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:25,120 Speaker 1: desire in his writing, with so much erotic content that 572 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: it sometimes seems he doesn't even realize he is including. 573 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:33,400 Speaker 1: There are multitudes of papers analyzing the sexuality of Dracula 574 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,200 Speaker 1: and the disdain for the Victorian new woman that is 575 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: present in a lot of Stoker's work. His obsession with 576 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: figures like Whitman and Irving, and his friendship with Oscar Wilde, 577 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:46,280 Speaker 1: who he saw go through the trial that ultimately, you know, 578 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,520 Speaker 1: kind of ruined Oscar Wilde's life have naturally led to 579 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,320 Speaker 1: speculation about an attraction to men that he may never 580 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,720 Speaker 1: have truly recognized. But this, like his childhood infirmity and 581 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,400 Speaker 1: his cause of death, can never be conclusively known. Well. 582 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 1: We do know, though, is that Dracula has never been 583 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,040 Speaker 1: out of print. It has been adapted into films and 584 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:10,360 Speaker 1: musicals and ballet, and has inspired innumerable other vampire stories, 585 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,359 Speaker 1: and it also just continues to do so. Oh, bram 586 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: Stoker's Dracula, we can talk more about it in the 587 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:24,239 Speaker 1: behind the scenes. Yes, he's so fascinating and complex. And 588 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,360 Speaker 1: I really did not know all of that Walt Whitman 589 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:29,800 Speaker 1: stuff to the degree that played out well. And I 590 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:32,839 Speaker 1: took a second while we were kind of in our 591 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:37,239 Speaker 1: in a in a sponsor break movement to see I 592 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,880 Speaker 1: don't think we mentioned any connection to Bram Stoker in 593 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:45,080 Speaker 1: the Walt Whitman episode. Yeah, I don't think so. I yeah, 594 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: I want to rewatch all of the Dracula now and 595 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:57,840 Speaker 1: think about him in this way. Thanks so much for 596 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,759 Speaker 1: joining us on this Saturday. If you'd like to send 597 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:04,640 Speaker 1: us a note, our email addresses History Podcast at iHeartRadio 598 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: dot com, and you can subscribe to the show on 599 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 600 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:12,200 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.