Bram (Abraham) Stoker (1847-1912) was born near Dublin, the third of seven children. An unidentified illness kept him almost bedridden until the age of seven. It remains a mystery as to whether the ailment was of physical or psychological origin. In his adolescence, although Stoker remained shy and bookish, he was anything but sickly. Probably to make up for his earlier frailty, he was by this time developing into a fine athlete. At Trinity College, he was named University Athlete for his skill in soccer and the marathon walking event. He graduated with honours in Mathematics and looked forward to the task of making a living.
Young Stoker had always dreamed of becoming a writer, but his father had safer plans for him. Yielding to his father’s wishes, he followed him into a career of civil servant in Dublin Castle. During a ten-year period as civil servant he made acquaintance of the celebrated actor-manager Sir Henry Irving. In 1878 he left this occupation to become his touring manager and secretary and remained in this post for twenty seven years. He came to know all the major theatrical men and women of the age.
His first publication, The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland (1879) was followed by fifteen works of fiction, among them Dracula (1897) being the most famous. Stoker also wrote the two-volume Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906).