Any hopes that The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker would be full of entries along the lines of, “Spotted on the tram today: a gentleman with very sharp teeth, which gave me a terrific idea for a story…” are quickly dashed. The book for which Stoker is famed was not even a twinkle in his eye when he jotted down these entries between 1871 and 1881; his first novel, The Snake’s Pass, wasn’t published until 1890, and Dracula didn’t see the light of day until 1897. During Stoker’s lifetime, we are reminded, he was better known as personal assistant to the actor Henry Irving, and as business manager to the Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned, than as the author of what has since become one of the most famous, most influential and most adapted novels in the world.
