Literature and cinema made him a legend, a myth, a monster. Matei Cazacu, considered as the world’s leading specialist on Dracula, has produced the most definitive account of Romania’s bloodthirsty tyrant.

This first historical biography shows how the image of Dracula has transformed from the Middle Age to the Romantic period, and how Bram Stocker drew inspiration from a short story written in 1878 by Marie Nizet, “Captain Vampire” to create his “Dracula” (reproduced in its integrality at the end of the book.)

Behind the frightening character of Dracula hides a real person: Vlad III, prince of Valachie (Romania), born around 1430 and murdered in 1476, famous for his exploits fighting against the Turkish invasion of Eastern Europe and his legendary cruelty and murderous bloodlust, including his penchant for impalement.

Setting aside the literary and cinematographic myth, the author conveys the complexity of the historical character by studying the origins of the different versions of Dracula’s life and the remaining historical texts.