Who Was Dracula?: Bram Stoker's Trail of Blood

Having just finished Jim Steinmeyer's superb new book on the Dracula legend and the simple division of fact and fiction; I can heartily recommend this tome. I would offer a spoiler alert or five at the top of this review, but I want the new reader to get as much pleasure out of the weird angles and wacky hallways of reason this story takes. Given the TWILIGHT craze and the myriad of movies and video games that involve vampires, here' the beginning in all of its gorgeous glory. Who was Bram Stoker? Why was Francis Ford Coppola attracted to Stoker's original story after so many had made the role their own? Think of the difference between Lugosi and Gary Oldman's style's in interpreting the role. Now ask yourself..."why?" Why has this role persisted where rank copies have frittered away? What is in the archetype that Jim Steinmeyer lovingly uncovers? This book is a "hot read" and I enjoyed it because it appealed to my sense of getting at the truth of a story, the odd, interesting twists of the tale, and why, now, in 2013, the vampires continue to drink our blood and we like that. Do you want to live as an undead, walk the Earth in a mid state, and never die, living, loving, drinking and being woefully misunderstood...for...eternity? If you do, this book is for you, as it was for me.

I enjoyed the book, but was disappointed in that the subtitle should have been, "More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Henry Irving That Goes Beyond How Dracula Came About." As a fan of Oscar Wilde's works, I was attracted by the promotional material that clearly indicated that Stoker drew upon his friends, colleagues, and shoulder-bumpers in Victorian England. Steinmeyer does a fine job of creating and drawing the reader into the theatrical world that Stoker inhabited. The author makes a solid case that Stoker drew upon the flawed characters of larger than life associates Henry Irving, Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, etc. in creating Dracula. Unfortunately, to fill out the book, the author goes off on tangents that have only tenuous links to the story. I think the book might have benefited by examining more thoroughly the post-Lugosi treatments of Dracula as imagined by Stoker, as well as vampires generally. The book is very timely precisely because of the proliferation of vampires in popular culture (Twilight, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Guillermo Del Toro's trilogy, etc.), but Steinmeyer races through the post-Lugosi heirs to Dracula. I would have enjoyed an examination of Dracula's evolution post-Lugosi, and beyond Drac, to the many vampires of popular culture who are his 21st century heirs. I know, that's not what Steinmeyer advertised, but given the space allotted to other peripheral matters, that's a shame.

Jim Steinmeyer, perhaps our best writer on the history of magic, takes on a new challenge in this book and proves that he's equally skillful and entertaining as a historian of popular culture. I was a little hesitant at first -- I'd never read the original "Dracula" and wasn't sure I'd be able to relate to the story. But this book is careful to explain everything the reader needs to know about Stoker's novel, and goes on to provide a fascinating backstage look into the theatrical world of late Victorian and Edwardian times. The author deftly weaves a story that brings together Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Henry Irving (the first actor to receive a knighthood), and even Jack the Ripper. You'll get a sense of the peculiar psychological grip of vampire stories, both in Bram Stoker's day and today. Great storytelling, about "Dracula" and much, much more.

This book concerns itself with the author Bram Stoker and his novel Dracula. It's a book that details the sources and inspiration that Bram Stoker used to write his most famous book. And in that it does a fairly good job. The problem I had was how the author goes off on some pretty wide tangents. The narrative wends through some obscure people that at first don't seem relevent to the story. Some are eventually brought full circle and their influence on Stoker is made clear, while others never are.An interesting book, but it could have been better without so many references to people and events that only bog down the writing.

What a complete and utter disappointment! This is nothing but a well-written but pretty mundane compilation of speculations based on some loose research. Nothing definitive or even interesting here -- if you want to read about Bram Stoker's life in the theater, go for it. If a recap of his famous novel (which actually is a pretty bad book itself) is enough for you, read this book. But if you're expecting something unique or intriguing by way of his "inspiration" for his Dracula character, this is not the "read" for you.

I knew so little about Dracula, as it turns out! Very informative and well researched. You'll tell everyone about this one.

It was an OK read.

It was a great writing on how the author created Dracula and his life and the life of the vampire after Stoker's life.

I've been reading Steinmeyer books since he released "Hiding the Elephant". I really like his writing style from one of the master builders of stage illusions. This was an interesting read, but not one of my favourites from Mr. Steinmeyer. I would consider it about on par with his book on Charles Forte. Both Dracula and Forte are interesting historical figures - Dracula far more than Forte - but I think there are better books on both topics.

If you bought it, you'll enjoy it.

A thorough, workmanlike and highly readable account.