Primary research for this book was made possible by the Long Room Hub of the Trinity College Dublin Library, which named me a Visiting Research Fellow for the Michaelmas Term, 2010. For their enthusiastic support, assistance, great conversation, and hospitality during several trips to Ireland, including a three-month residency, I thank the following faculty, staff, and students at TCD: Meg Black, Jennifer Edmond, Tiffany Hearsey, Darryl Jones, Jarlath Killeen, Elizabeth McCarthy, Orla McCarthy, Jason McElligot, Eva Mühlhause, Bernice Murphy, Sorcha Ní Fhlainn, Clemens Ruthner, Diane Sadler, and Simon Williams. I am especially grateful to Professor Jones and Dr. Murphy for inviting me to conduct a very successful graduate seminar based on my book The Monster Show, and to Dr. Ruthner and Dr. Killeen for asking me to participate in their respective 2012 conferences, “Vampire (&) Science” and “Bram Stoker: Life and Work.” I was privileged to have met and/or reconnected with an impressive roster of conferees, including Jürgen Barkhoff, Roy Foster, Christopher Frayling, William Hughes, Brendan Kelly, Shaun McCann, Elizabeth Miller, Christina Morin, Paul Murray, Hannah Priest, Christian Reiter, and Carol Senf.
Also in Dublin, the collector John Moore gave me unfettered access to what must be the most extensive private Stoker library on the planet, and kind permission to reproduce dozens of rare images and documents, many appearing in print for the first time.
Two individuals went beyond the call of duty in research assistance. Brian J. Showers provided invaluable support in Dublin long after my return to California, tirelessly accessing microforms at the National Library of Ireland, and other materials that were simply not available in the United States. His efforts led to the discovery of Stoker’s first published piece of supernatural fiction, “Saved by a Ghost,” previously unknown. Brian is also responsible for a striking new set of author photos, taken at Dublin’s Mount Jerome Cemetery, an appropriately atmospheric family burial site for the Stoker, Wilde, and Le Fanu families.
John Edgar Browning, a leading light in American Stoker studies, was a constant friend and cheerleader, who freely shared valuable research, as well as his knowledge and expertise in the brave new realm of digitized historical newspapers and documents. Without his keen interest and support, Something in the Blood would be a much-diminished effort.
Research institutions consulted included the Boston Public Library, British Library Department of Manuscripts, Burbank Public Library, Fales Manuscript Library at New York University, Folger Shakespeare Library, Glendale Public Library, Los Angeles Public Library, Manx National Heritage and Museum, National Library of Ireland, New York Public Library (especially the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center), Occidental College Library, Pasadena Public Library, all divisions of the Trinity College Dublin Library, and UCLA Libraries, especially the Young Research Library and the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. Among librarians and archivists, I must first thank Wendy Thirkettle and Paul Wetherall at Manx National Heritage. With the aid of tireless volunteers, Ms. Thirkettle generously began sifting through hitherto uncataloged papers and correspondence of Hall Caine months before my arrival on the Isle of Man, resulting in some wonderful discoveries. At the Fales Library, director Marvin J. Taylor graciously accommodated a short-notice request to access Stoker’s rarely studied manuscripts for The Lair of the White Worm and Under the Sunset. The entire staff of the Trinity College Dublin Department of Manuscripts was helpful on a nearly daily basis for eleven weeks as I immersed myself in TCD’s treasure trove of Stoker family papers.
I am privileged to be among a handful of scholars permitted to study Stoker’s hand-emended typescript for Dracula, presently owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. I am most grateful for this opportunity, and thank Mr. Allen, the library staff of Vulcan, Inc., and Leslie S. Klinger, editor of The New Annotated Dracula, for making an introduction, and for his ongoing interest in my work.
Since Horace Liveright was more responsible than any other individual for bringing Dracula to the New York stage, and ultimately to the attention of Hollywood, it is only appropriate that this book appears under the Liveright imprimatur. I thank my agent Malaga Baldi for introducing me to editor Will Menaker; his enthusiasm for the project and many perceptive and intelligent suggestions helped shape a longer and more satisfying book than I originally imagined. Thanks also to Liveright’s editor in chief, Bob Weil, for greenlighting the project, and, for their efforts and expertise at publicity, Peter Miller, Cordelia Calvert, and Phil Marino. Rodrigo Corral created a jacket design that would be the envy of any author. India Cooper proved that copyeditors are truly the unheralded heroines and heroes of publishing. I am much indebted to Steve Fisher at the Agency for the Performing Arts, Beverly Hills, for all his advice and efforts in handling dramatic media rights.
During TCD’s Stoker conference I was privileged to be invited on a private tour of Dublin’s now sadly shuttered Bram Stoker Dracula Museum, in the company of three direct Stoker descendants: Bram’s great-great nephew Dacre Stoker and great-grandsons Robin MacCaw and Noel Dobbs, as well as Noel’s wife, Susan Dobbs. Thanks to all for some delightful and informative conversation in the city of Bram Stoker’s birth. Dacre Stoker and his wife, Jenne, also provided valuable genealogical data.
I am grateful to Bob Madison and Russell Frost for a week of hospitality in New York City and for decades of friendship. For ongoing encouragement, feedback, and interest in the project, and for generally indulging and abetting my severe Dracula habit in a multitude of ways over many years: Dave Alexander, Jay Blotcher, Christopher Bram, Keith Clark, Mark Dery, Robert Eighteen-Bisang, my dedicatee Peter Gölz (who first gave me the chance to teach a course based on my own books at the University of Victoria in 2005); Lokke Heiss, Mike Hill, Hilary Hinzmann, Del and Sue Howison, J. V. Johnson, Leslie S. Klinger, the late Carla Laemmle, Bryan Moore, Scott Martin, William G. Obbagy, Terry and Anita Pace, Mark Redfield, Elias Savada, Jeffrey Schwarz, Carol Senf, Mona Simpson, Jim Steinmeyer, Brinke Stevens, Anthony Taylor, Johanne Tournier, and Jeanne Youngson. I owe Steve Robin a particularly warm acknowledgment, simply for convincing me to take on such a daunting project as Something in the Blood in the first place.
For photo research, image scanning, and permissions, I thank Ron and Margaret Borst, Mark Dawidziak, Paul S. McAlduff, Steve Prince, Katharine Kay Marshall at the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, Eleanor Novick at Lebrecht Art and Music, and Joanna Ling at the Cecil Beaton Archive at Sotheby’s. John Eastwood kindly provided an unpublished photograph of his ancestor Edmund Blake, the first actor to play the role of Dracula on the legitimate stage.
Biography is a cumulative endeavor, and this project could never have been realized without the work of four previous authors: the late Harry Ludlam, the late Daniel Farson, Barbara Belford, and Paul Murray. Special thanks go to Mr. Murray for personally and generously answering questions on several puzzling research matters. Beyond biographies, the books of Stoker scholars Nina Auerbach, John Edgar Browning, Christopher Frayling, David Glover, William Hughes, Leslie S. Klinger, Clive Leatherdale, and Elizabeth Miller have been particularly useful and inspiring.
On a very personal note, I thank my parents, Lois and John Skal, and my brother, James Skal, all three of whom did not live to see this project come to fruition, as well as my sister, Sandra Skal-Gerlock, my sister-in-law, Mona Skal, and their families, who survive to celebrate. Lastly, I give my deepest love and thanks to Bob Postawko, who, more than anyone else on earth, makes all of my books possible.