• Joseph O'Connor

**Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2019**
**Winner of the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year**

'Breathtaking . . . A hugely entertaining book about the grand scope of friendship and love' Guardian

London, 1878. Fresh from life in Dublin, Bram Stoker – now manager of the Lyceum Theatre – is wrestling with dark demons in a new city, in a new marriage, and with his own literary aspirations. As he walks the streets at night, streets haunted by the Ripper and the gossip which swirls around his friend Oscar Wilde, he finds new inspiration. Soon, the eerie tale of Dracula begins to emerge.

But Henry Irving, volcanic leading man and impresario, is determined that nothing will get in the way of Bram’s dedication to the Lyceum. And both men are growing ever more enchanted by the beauty and boldness of Ellen Terry, the most celebrated actress of her generation.

'Extraordinary . . . Joseph O'Connor is a very great artist and storyteller' Sebastian Barry

'A colourful tale of secret love and public performance . . . in a romantic, lost London' The Times