A quick tour of the birthdays before we return to art:
Irish-born writer Bram Stoker, who lived in London for a great part of his life, managing the Lyceum Theatre, was born on Nov. 8, 1847 (d. 1912)…
Now famous as the author of Dracula, Stoker was better known in his life-time as the personal assistant and biographer of actor Henry Irving. In 1897 Stoker’s now immortal horror novel appeared: The original 529-page manuscript of Dracula, believed to have been lost, was found in a barn in northwestern Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It included the typed manuscript with many corrections, and “handwritten on the title page was “THE UN-DEAD.” The author’s name was shown at the bottom as Bram Stoker. Author Robert Latham notes, “the most famous horror novel ever published, its title changed at the last minute.” (Wiki)
Photo of Stoker, via Illustrated London News (Source: The History of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Virtual Museum)
Museum caption: “Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, lived at several places in Chelsea including 18 St Leonard Terrace where his blue plaque has been placed. But the most interesting story relates to the time when he lived at 27 Cheyne Walk. Walking along the Embankment he witnessed a man falling into the river. He rushed to the rescue and took the drowning man to his house, laying him out on the kitchen table where he expired. His wife Florence, previously engaged to Oscar Wilde, was not amused and the event led to marital discord.”
Florence Stoker, née Balcombe
