BRAM STOKER 1882 Autograph Letter DRACULA Henry Irving

This handwritten letter, dated April 15, 1882, is on the Royal Lyceum Theater/Strand stationery. It is in the unmistakable hand of Bram Stoker -- 7 years before the publication of his classic horror novel "Dracula." It is signed by his friend and employer, Sir Henry Irving, who was Stoker's main inspiration for the character, Count Dracula. Irving was the most famous and popular actor of his time, and was the owner of the Lyceum Theatre where Stoker was employed for 27 years.

The text of the letter is as follows:

15 April 1882

Dear Sir,

I have the greatest pleasure in complying with your request.

With all good wishes.

Believe me Dear Sir,

Very faithfully yours,

After this, it is signed by Henry Irving, then there is another line in Stoker's hand that reads:

C.E. MacBride Esq.

... most likely the name of the letter's recipient. (Thanks to Ebay user bluegingko for help with the transcription on that last line!)

There is much documentation and even more speculation as to the nature of the friendship between Stoker and Irving. In fact, there is enough drama and intrigue evident to create an interesting novel or two based on this topic alone.

It is widely accepted that Stoker based the mannerisms and characteristics of Count Dracula on those of his longtime friend and employer Henry Irving. Many say that he did this because he had hoped that Irving would consider playing the role in a stage production of the manuscript. However, there was never a stage production created, and Irving never agreed to play such a role.

The real reasons behind Stoker's modeling of Dracula after Irving may never be truly known, but it would seem that Stoker's hero-worship of Irving, who could be a very demanding employer, may have resulted in this fantasy version of the man as an evil seducer - with Stoker himself perhaps logically basing the character of Renfield after himself. It would also seem a possibility that Stoker's interest in Irving approached obsession, perhaps on a romantic level. If Irving was ever approached about playing the count in a stage production, it is possible that he declined due to resultant discomfort in whatever real life similarities he detected in Stoker's rendering of his soon-to-be famous bloodsucking Count to himself.

Whatever the real truth, Stoker's obsession with Irving was real enough that he wrote a two volume set about the man entitled "Personal Reminisces of Henry Irving: Volumes 1 & 2."

It is fun to speculate the interactions of these famed real-life characters. So here are a few facts, interspersed with even more speculation, so that we may grasp towards a truth that, in the end, can only be imagined.

The first paragraph of Bram Stoker's Wikipedia entry states:

Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 - 20 April 1912) was an Irish writer of novels and short stories, who is best known today for his 1897 horror novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known for being the personal assistant of the actor Henry Irving and the business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.

Henry Irving was so popular and respected in 19th Century England that he was the first actor ever to be awarded a knighthood. Bram Stoker was a struggling writer and civil servant at the time that they met. Again from Wikipedia:

In 1876, while employed as a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote a non-fiction book (The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland, published 1879) and became the theatre critic for the newspaper Dublin Evening Mail. In December 1876, he gave a favourable review of the actor Henry Irving's performance as Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Dublin. Irving read the review and invited Stoker for dinner at the Shelbourne Hotel, where he was staying. After that they became friends... In 1878 Stoker married Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde. The couple moved to London, where Stoker became acting-manager and then business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre, London, a post he held for 27 years.

And so...

The "celebrated beauty," Florence Holcombe, who may or may not have had an unusual attraction to gay or bisexual literary geniuses, dumps her famous suitor, Oscar Wilde, in favor of Bram Stoker. Oscar Wilde was so distraught at the rejection that he voluntarily exiled himself from his native country in response, or, according to Wikipedia’s entry for Wilde:

After graduating from Oxford, Wilde returned to Dublin, where he met and courted Florence Balcombe. She, however, became engaged to the writer Bram Stoker. On hearing of her engagement, Wilde wrote to her stating his intention to leave Ireland permanently. He left in 1878, and returned to his native country only twice, for brief visits.

This was two years after Stoker's initial employment under Irving. Now, to continue with our speculation, it is possible that Florence was one of those ladies who felt a certain challenge in seducing men known for their homosexual tendencies. If that was the case, she may have tired of Oscar, having succeeded in winning him over unconditionally, and felt a stronger challenge, therefore more compelling desire, to continue her pursuit of Stoker. This pursuit may have been complicated by any apparent affections Stoker might have felt for Henry Irving.

Now, if any of this speculation be true, Florence is shaping into a solid candidate for the inspiration of another wonderful character from "Dracula," that being the famously beautiful seductress, Lucy Taylor a/k/a "The Bloofer Lady," who is also the count's first English victim in the novel. And if this is the case, it is also possible that Stoker was trying to tell us something about a possible tryst between his wife and Henry Irving. The plot thickens.

By the time of Dracula's publication, Stoker's very close friendship with Irving had been affected enough that the book was not dedicated to Irving (or even his own wife for that matter). Instead, the dedication is made "To my good friend, Hommy-Beg." Hommy-Beg being an affectionate childhood nickname for fellow author, Hall Caine, meaning "Little Tommy." Hommy-Beg does indeed seem an odd way to make the dedication, almost more of a pet name than a nickname.

It should be noted here, for the purpose of our continued wild speculation, that Hall Caine was quite famous and successful in his time for writing novels involving tragic love triangles. Which, for the purpose of our speculation, may or may not be ironic or coincidental or neither. And, to further fuel any perhaps unwarranted speculation regarding his relationship with Stoker, this from Wikipedia in Hall Caine’s entry:

In 1902 the Caines rented a large house on Wimbledon Common, The Hermitage, and Mary spent much time there while Caine was abroad or at Greeba Castle. Rumours spread that the marriage was in trouble and, as many of his visitors were male, that Caine was homosexual. However there was never any reliable substance to this.

In 1893, Caine dedicated a volume containing 3 novellas to Stoker.

All in all, a pretty fascinating game of connect the dots, none of the juicy bits being particularly provable. At least, not to my knowledge.

Perspective of chronology regarding the piece at auction:

The letter offered here today, handwritten by Bram Stoker (the author of Dracula) but signed by Henry Irving (the real life inspiration for Dracula), was written in 1882 - which was 6 years after meeting Henrry Irving, 4 years after his marriage to Florence, and 7 years before the publication of Dracula.

Regarding the monetary value of the piece at auction:

There is currently a very similar letter for sale on Ebay that is priced at $5,000. This is not an unrealistic price considering the history of the piece, but considering these tough economic times I have set the price on this one considerably lower.

Condition:

The condition of the letter is amazingly good. There is some light staining and light creasing from its original folding (visible in scan), but otherwise its condition is excellent. Its dimensions are approximately 3.75 x 7 inches.

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BONUS...

The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros

Signed, First Edition

As a bonus, the buyer of the Bram Stoker Letter will receive a signed first edition hardcover copy of the critically acclaimed novel The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros. This book will be inscribed to the buyer upon request. Mr. Maistros is the current owner of the Stoker letter.

Some reviews of The Sound of Building Coffins:

"Louis Maistros has written a lyrical, complex, and brave novel that takes enormous risks and pulls them all off. He is a writer to watch and keep reading, a writer to cherish."
-- Peter Straub

"A thing of wonder, unlike anything in our literature. It startles. It stuns. It stupefies. No novel since CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES has done such justice to New Orleans."
-- Donald Harington, winner of the Robert Penn Warren Award and the Oxford-American Lifetime Achievement Award

"The Sound of Building Coffins is easily one of the finest and truest pieces of New Orleans fiction I've ever read."
-- Poppy Z. Brite

"One has to write with considerable authenticity to pull off a story steeped in magic and swamp water that examines race and class, death and rebirth, Haitian voodoo, and the beginnings of jazz in 1891 New Orleans... Highly recommended for all fiction collections, especially where there is an interest in jazz."
-- Library Journal

"A book like The Sound of Building Coffins couldn't have been set anywhere else than in New Orleans. This is a good thing - even people who haven't had the experience of living there can get a feeling for the place, thanks to the wonderful writing of Louis Maistros. But for anyone who has lived there, this book sings out in true jazz fashion - wildly inventive, oddly formed yet perfectly made, and never a sour note."
-- The Anniston Star

More information, reviews and excerpts from The Sound of Building Coffins can be found at the author's website, http://louismaistros.com  

The condition of the book is pristine, brand new, never-been-read.

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