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He was born on November 8, 1847 in Clontarf in Ireland, a coastal village near Dublin. Until he was 8 years old, he was ill and could neither stand up nor walk on his own. This illness and helplessness was a traumatic experience which is noticeable in his literary work. Everlasting sleep and the resurrection from the dead, which are the central themes of his Dracula, were of great importance for him, because he was forced to spend much of his life in bed.
Not only his illness but also his total convalescence were miracles for his doctors. After that he became a normal young man, who even became an athlete and soccer-star at the University of Dublin. He studied history, literature, mathematics and physics at Trinity College. He became a civil servant, a work that couldn't satisfy him. So he started to work as a journalist and as a drama critic (The Evening Mail). His interest in theatre lead to a lifelong friendship with the actor Henry Irving.
Stoker married Oscar Wilde's former girlfriend Florence Balcombe in 1878 and moved with her to LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri where he became business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre . The collaboration with Irving was very important for Stoker. Through him he became involved in London's high society, where he met James McNeil Whistler and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the course of Irving's tours he got the chance to travel around the world.
He supplemented his income by writing a large number of sensational novels, his most famous being the vampire tale Dracula which he published in 1897Events January 1 Brooklyn, New York merges with New York City. January 4 A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosheri, son-in-law of the Oba of Benin. This leads to a Punitive Expedition against Benin. February 2 The Pennsylvania state capitol is dest. Parts of it are set around the town of WhitbySee also Whitby (disambiguation Whitby is a fishing port and tourist destination in North Yorkshire on the north-east coast of England. At this point the coast curves round, so the town faces more north than east. It sits at the mouth of the River Esk and, where he was living at the time. Dracula is the basis of countless filmFor other uses see film (disambiguation Film — also called movies the cinema the silver screen moving pictures motion pictures photoplays picture shows and flicks — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of the entertainments and plays.
His other novels include The Snake's Pass ( 1890), The Jewel of Seven Stars ( 1903), and The Lair of the White Worm (1911).
Bram Stoker died on April 20, 1912 in London, England and was interred at Golders Green Crematorium, London.