Bram Stoker's relative Dacre writes first authorised prequel to Dracula
Dracul, due out in 2018 and co-authored by JD Barker, draws on family stories to portray the young vampire author battling blood-chilling horrors
The great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker is writing the first authorised prequel to Dracula, based on scholarly research into the original, unedited version of Stoker’s 1897 tale of the undead count, as well as Stoker family legends.
Dacre Stoker and co-writer JD Barker’s prequel Dracul is set in 1868, and sees a 21-year-old Bram encountering some of the creatures he would later write about. Due out next year, it has provoked great excitement in both the literary and film worlds. North American rights sold for a six-figure sum to Putnam, UK rights are with Transworld, where editor Simon Taylor called it “terrific fun – and suitably terrifying”, and film rights have gone to Paramount, where the director of the new adaptation of Stephen King’s It, Andy Muschietti, is attached to direct.
