Birth of a Legend Book by Paul M. Chapman

Count Dracula, Bram Stoker and Whitby
Incorporating the 1897 text of Bram Stoker's DRACULA

Birth of Legend is Paul M. Chapman's examination of the influence the Yorkshire fishing port and holiday resort of Whitby exerted upon the planning stages and finalised form of Bram Stoker's Gothic masterpiece, Dracula. The book focuses upon Stoker's visit to the town in the summer of 1890 and the discoveries he made there, including his first encounter with the name Dracula, which he stumbled upon in an obscure old study of the Romanian region on the shelves of Whitby's subscription library. Chapman also recounts how the actual 1885 wreck of the Russian ship Dmitry in Whitby provided the inspiration for Count Dracula's dramatic arrival in England aboard the doomed schooner Demeter.

In order to provide a suitable context, the very specific influences of Stoker's 1890 Whitby holiday are presented within the wider framework of his life, much of which was spent working alongside some of the most celebrated names of Victorian London's artistic and literary elite. Birth of a Legend also examines the remarkable and enduring cultural legacy of Dracula, one of the great milestones of popular English fiction.

Included with Birth of a Legend is the full text of Bram Stoker's original novel, allowing the reader to discover, or re-discover, the power of this literary and cultural landmark.