The Dracula secrets: Jack the Ripper and the darkest sources of Bram Stoker

Since its publication in 1897, there have been suggestions that the fictional exploits of Dracula were closely associated with Jack the Ripper than a Transylvanian Count.

Historian Neil Storey provides the first British-based investigation of the sources used by Stoker and paints an evocative portrait of Stoker, his influences, friends and the London he knew in the late 19th century.

Among Stoker’s group of friends, however, were dark shadows.

Storey explores how Stoker created Dracula out of the climate of fear that surrounded the Jack the Ripper murders in 1888.

Add to this potent combination the notion that Stoker may have known Jack the Ripper personally and hid the clues to this terrible knowledge in his book.

The premise is seductive and connects some of the giants of stage and literature of late Victorian Britain.

Having gained unprecedented access to the unique archive of one of Stoker’s most respected friends and the dedicatee of Dracula, Storey sheds new light on both Stoker and Dracula, and reveals startling new insights into the links between Stoker’s creation and the most infamous murderer of all time.

NEIL STOREY is an award-winning historian and lecturer specialising in themes that shaped society in the 19th and early 20th centuries, notably crime, medicine and warfare.

He has published over 30 books, is the creator of the popular Grim Almanac series published by The History Press and regularly writes features on social history themes for national periodicals.

Storey is distinguished by his original and diligent research; he has assembled a nationally respected archive of rare books, manuscripts, engravings and photographs to illustrate his works and has featured on numerous television and radio documentaries as guest, historical adviser and consultant.