Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irvin..., Bram Stoker
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Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving

Author: Bram Stoker

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 18 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Published: 05/11/2021


Synopsis

Known as an actor-manager, Sir Henry Irving (1838–1905) took complete responsibility for season after season at London’s Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as representative of English classical theater. Beginning in 1878, author Bram Stoker worked for Irving as a business manager at the Lyceum for much of Irving’s career. Stoker revered Irving, and when he began writing Dracula, Irving was the chief inspiration for the title character.In this fascinating journey, Stoker describes wonderful visits in the company of Irving with the likes of Alfred Lord Tennyson, Walt Whitman, and other worthy notables. Stoker’s description of how Irving changed the way actors and acting companies rehearsed and presented plays is fascinating.Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving is an extraordinary look at an artist’s life during the latter half of the nineteenth century and the trials and tribulations of working in the theater during that period. Bram Stoker loved the theater, and he loved Henry Irving—and that friendship is written all over the pages of this book.

Author Bio

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 studied math at Trinity College in Dublin and graduated in 1867, after which he became a civil servant. At this time, he also worked as a freelance journalist, a drama critic, and editor of the Evening Mail. In 1876, he met Sir Henry Irving, a famous actor. Stoker accepted a job as personal secretary to Irving and went to England in 1878. Before he left Ireland, he published his first book, The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland. While working for Irving he met an aspiring actress named Florence Balcombe. They married in 1878 and had one son, Noel, who was born in 1879. In England, Stoker also began writing a series of short stories and novels, the first of which was The Snake's Pass. Although best known for Dracula, Stoker wrote eighteen books before he died in 1912.

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