Abstract
David J. Skal’s recent biography of Bram Stoker notes some striking similarities between Stoker’s Dracula (1897) and his friend Hall Caine’s Drink (1906). Skal claims that Caine’s story was actually first published in 1890, around the time Stoker started to write Dracula, and can therefore be considered as a possible source for Stoker’s narrative. This essay examines archival and bibliographical evidence relating to Drink and concludes that the story cannot be dated earlier than 1894-5, meaning it must have been Caine’s response to reading a draft of Dracula rather than a source for it. Another text by Caine from the same period, The Demon Lover, also contains echoes of Dracula. Both texts, though derivative, are of interest for what they reveal of Caine’s very different sensibility.
Original language | English |
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Journal | ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews |
Publication status | Published - 4 Aug 2019 |
Keywords
- Bram Stoker
- Hypnotism
- The Demon Lover
- Hall Caine