Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker, whose real name was Abraham Stoker, was an Irish-born author who is most famous for his gothic horror novel Dracula, which was published in 1897. Stoker was born in the coastal suburb of Fairview in Dublin, Ireland, and was the third of seven children. His parents were members of the Church of Ireland and attended the parish church of Saint John the Baptist in Clontarf with their children. Stoker was an invalid as a child and started school at the age of seven, where he made a complete recovery. He excelled in his studies and went on to attend Trinity College in Dublin from 1864 to 1870, where he graduated with honors in mathematics. He was also actively involved in the college's historical and philosophical societies.

After graduating from Trinity College, Stoker worked as a civil servant in Dublin and wrote a non-fiction book titled 'The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland' in 1879. He also wrote theatre reviews for The Dublin Mail and developed a lifelong interest in theatre. This interest led to a friendship with the English actor Henry Irving, and Stoker went on to become the business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre in London in 1878. He held this post for 27 years and through Irving, he became involved in London's high society, meeting notables such as James McNeil Whistler and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Stoker married Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty, in 1878 and the couple had one son, Irving Noel, who was born in 1879.