From the Archive: Bram Stoker (1911)

Fourteen years after 'Dracula' was published, Bram Stoker asked us for help

In 1897, Irish writer Bram Stoker’s genre-defining gothic novel Dracula was published.

The impact of this horror masterpiece cannot be overstated: its characterisation of the vampire myth – by no means created by Stoker, but undeniably popularised by his storytelling – has left an indelible (bite) mark on our culture, spawning multiple retellings, productions, spin-off stories and Hallowe’en costumes for well over a century.

But not even creating a story which has so successfully sunk its teeth into popular consciousness can protect a writer from all life’s horrors. Fourteen years after the release of his transformational novel, Stoker – who was born on 8 November in 1847 – wrote to the Royal Literary Fund to request assistance.

Bram Stoker’s 1911 letter to the Royal Literary Fund (page 1) begins: “Lady Ritchie, who has most kindly interested herself in the affair, tells me that I should write you a letter stating the facts of my working and of my long illness, and suggesting reason why I might ask for your aid.” © Noel Dobbs 2023. Courtesy of the Bram Stoker Estate Collection.

He writes of first experiencing a paralytic stroke in 1906, not long after the death in 1905 of Sir Henry Irving, the renowned stage actor for whom Stoker had worked since 1878.

For Stoker, Irving was more than an employer: he idolised – some say 'worshipped' – the actor and named his only son after him. So important was Irving to Stoker, in fact, that some Stoker biographers believe Irving partly inspired the character of Dracula. What is certainly true is that Stoker wrote extensively about his memories of Irving, publishing a two-volume biography called Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving in 1906, the same year as the paralytic stroke he mentions in his letter to the RLF.

This stroke seems to have been the beginning of a period of ill health for Stoker. He speaks of experiencing a "break-down" a year later, something he attributes to overwork. This illness, he goes on to say, "has incapacitated me ever since.”

At the time of his grant application, Stoker was 63 and still in ill health. The letter is dated 25 February 1911, and Stoker died just over a year later, on 20th April 1912. 

Bram Stoker’s letter to the Royal Literary Fund (pages 2 and 3) continues: “…Sir Henry Irving’s death, I devoted myself to literature entirely. At the beginning of 1906, I had a paralytic stroke. Fortunately, the stroke was not a bad one, and in a few months, I resumed my work. Just a year ago, I had another break-down from overwork, which has incapacitated me ever since.” © Noel Dobbs 2023. Courtesy of the Bram Stoker Estate Collection.

Of his illness, Stoker says:

‘The result of such a misfortune shows at its worst in the case of one who has to depend on his brain and his hands. For a whole year already, I have been unable to do any work with the exception of completing a book began some time before and the preparatory study for which had been largely done. This book “Famous Imposters” has been just published but I shall not derive any substantial benefit from it for about a year. At present I do not know whether I can in the future do much, or any literary work, and I am emboldened to look to my fellow craftsmen in my difficulty.’

The book he mentions, Famous Imposters, was published four years after his Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving and was the last of Stoker's non-fiction books. Although 'non-fiction' may not be entirely accurate, given that one of the topics covered was the popular 19th-century legend of the Bisley Boy—essentially a conspiracy theory suggesting Queen Elizabeth I was actually a man.

Apparently intrigued by this bit of local Cotswolds gossip, Stoker spent a whole chapter theorising about the apparent ‘facts’ behind the legend. The story goes that, while staying near the village of Bisley as a young child, Elizabeth died following a short illness. Fearing the anger of Elizabeth’s father, King Henry VIII, her panicked governess replaced her dead charge with a local boy, while the original 'Elizabeth' was buried in the grounds of the house where she had been staying.

Again, this story existed before Stoker wrote about it, but his storytelling helped make a localised (very much not urban) legend into a more persistent myth.

But, of course, it’s Dracula that continues to capture the public imagination 127 years after it was published – and 113 years after its author wrote for assistance. Just as Bram Stoker once reached out during a period of great difficulty in his life, the RLF continues to support writers in need today.

Interested in applying for a grant?

If you are a professional writer like Stoker and unable to write due to a change in circumstances, you can find out more about our Grants Programme on the RLF website.

Portrait of Bram Stoker by W. & D. Downey 1906 and archive letter permissions given courtesy of the Bram Stoker Estate Collection. © Noel Dobbs 2023.