Abraham (Bram) Stoker was born Nove

Abraham (Bram) Stoker was born November 8, 1847 in Dublin, Ireland. His father was a civil servant and his mother was a charity worker and writer. Stoker was a sickly child and spent a lot of time in bed. Growing up his mother told him a lot of horror stories which may have influenced his later writings. In 1864 Stoker entered Trinity College Dublin. While attending college he began working as an Irish civil servant. He also worked part time as a free lance journalist and drama critic. In 1876 he met Henry Irving, a famous actor, and they soon became friends. Not long after that, Stoker met and fell in love with an aspiring actress named Florence Balcombe. In 1878 Stoker accepted a job working in London as Irving's personal secretary. According to an announcement in the December 5, 1878 issue of The Freeman's Journal: and Daily Commercial Advertiser Stoker and Balcombe were married on December 4, 1878 at St. Anne's Parish Church, Dublin, by the Rev. Charles W. Benson. On December 9, Stoker and his new wife moved to England to join Irving. His first book "The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland" though written while he was still in Dublin, was published in 1879. On December 30, 1879 Stoker and his wife had their only child, a son Noel. While in England Stoker also wrote several novels and short stories. His first book of fiction, "Under the Sunset," was published in 1881. Although best known for "Dracula", Stoker wrote eighteen books before his death in 1912. He died of exhaustion at the age of 64.