The Lady of the Shroud (1909) is a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. Written just before the outbreak of the Balkan Wars, The Lady of the Shroud is a prophetic and politically informed work of fiction that helped to establish the Irish master of Gothic horror’s reputation as a leading writer of the early-twentieth century.
When Rupert Saint Leger is unexpectedly named heir to his uncle’s fortune, he is even more surprised to learn the details of the inheritance: before receiving control of the estate, worth over one million pounds, he must live for one year in a secluded castle on the Dalmatian coast. Undaunted, Rupert travels to the Land of the Blue Mountains, where he befriends the local peasantry by purchasing them a stockpile of weapons with which to defend themselves from an impending Turkish invasion. One night, however, in the middle of a violent storm, he discovers a strange woman who seems to have wandered into the castle seeking warmth. She continues to visit, and, despite suspecting her to be a vampire, Saint Leger falls in love with the mysterious woman. When a group of soldiers kidnaps her, however, he finds himself caught between romance and a quickly escalating conflict involving a local warlord and an invading Turkish army. The Lady of the Shroud is a work of adventure and Gothic horror that explores the rich history and ancient mythology of the Balkan peninsula.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Bram Stoker’s The Lady of the Shroud is a classic of Irish literature reimagined for modern readers.
About the author
Bram Stoker (1847-1912) was an Irish novelist. Born in Dublin, Stoker suffered from an unknown illness as a young boy before entering school at the age of seven. He would later remark that the time he spent bedridden enabled him to cultivate his imagination, contributing to his later success as a writer. He attended Trinity College, Dublin from 1864, graduating with a BA before returning to obtain an MA in 1875. After university, he worked as a theatre critic, writing a positive review of acclaimed Victorian actor Henry Irving’s production of Hamlet that would spark a lifelong friendship and working relationship between them. In 1878, Stoker married Florence Balcombe before moving to London, where he would work for the next 27 years as business manager of Irving’s influential Lyceum Theatre. Between his work in London and travels abroad with Irving, Stoker befriended such artists as Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, Hall Caine, James Abbott Mc Neill Whistler, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1895, having published several works of fiction and nonfiction, Stoker began writing his masterpiece Dracula (1897) while vacationing at the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel in Cruden Bay, Scotland. Stoker continued to write fiction for the rest of his life, achieving moderate success as a novelist. Known more for his association with London theatre during his life, his reputation as an artist has grown since his death, aided in part by film and television adaptations of Dracula, the enduring popularity of the horror genre, and abundant interest in his work from readers and scholars around the world.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
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