Whilst it is still the spooky season I thought I’d let you know that I will be taking part in Lunchtime Bites for an AHRC-funded project called Dracula Returns to Derby (led by Prof. Matthew Cheeseman of Derby University). It was in Derby that Hamilton Deane’s theatrical version of Dracula was first performed, and indeed Bela Lugosi played the role of the Count on 11 occasions during a theatrical run in the 1950s. I have written about the vampire theatre in OGOM’s new book The Legacy of John Polidori: The Romantic Vampire and Its Progeny (MUP, 2024).
My talk ‘Bram Stoker’s Vampire’ will take place online on the 27th November at 12.30. It is FREE but you need to book to attend via this link. Here is a brief synopsis:
Bram Stoker spent seven years researching his novel Dracula. In this talk, Dr Sam George draws on the research notes that Stoker made on the vampire figure and probes into some of his more folkloric sources. She explores the many attributes of the Count as vampire and explains why Dracula casts no shadow and has no reflection in a mirror.
This event is part of Dracula Returns to Derby, an AHRC-funded research project led by the University of Derby in partnership with Derby Museums, Derby Theatre, Bournemouth University and Sheffield Hallam University. A series of public workshops and events connect the city with the world’s most famous vampire.
