Description
The Gates of Life (1905), also published as The Man, is a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. Written at the height of his career, The Gates of Life helped to establish the Irish master of Gothic horror's reputation as a leading writer of the early-twentieth century. Inspired by the archetype of the New Woman-a type of literary character incorporating elements of 19th century feminism-Stoker crafts a novel capable of captivating the reader while critiquing the constraints of class and gender on women and men of the early twentieth century. Following the death of his young wife in childbirth, Squire Stephen Norman promises to raise his daughter as his heir. Naming her Stephen, he encourages her to befriend the local boys and refuses to constrain her in the manner typical for young girls of the time. She grows up alongside Harold, who is taken in by Norman after his father's death from pneumonia. As the story unfolds, a romance develops between Stephen and Leonard, complicating Norman's wish for his daughter to marry Harold. Having promised Norman on his deathbed that he would look after Stephen, Harold is heartbroken when she proposes to Leonard, but he refuses to give up hope. As time and distance drive them apart, they will need more than ancient promises and memories of a shared childhood to unite them once again. The Gates of Life is a gripping work of romance by Bram Stoker, the secretive and vastly underrated creator of Dracula, one of history's greatest villains. >With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Bram Stoker's The Gates of Life is a classic of Irish literature reimagined for modern readers.
About the Author
Bram Stoker (1847-1912) was an Irish novelist. Born in Dublin, Stoker suffered from an unknown illness as a young boy before entering school at the age of seven. He would later remark that the time he spent bedridden enabled him to cultivate his imagination, contributing to his later success as a writer. He attended Trinity College, Dublin from 1864, graduating with a BA before returning to obtain an MA in 1875. After university, he worked as a theatre critic, writing a positive review of acclaimed Victorian actor Henry Irving's production of Hamlet that would spark a lifelong friendship and working relationship between them. In 1878, Stoker married Florence Balcombe before moving to London, where he would work for the next 27 years as business manager of Irving's influential Lyceum Theatre. Between his work in London and travels abroad with Irving, Stoker befriended such artists as Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, Hall Caine, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1895, having published several works of fiction and nonfiction, Stoker began writing his masterpiece Dracula (1897) while vacationing at the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel in Cruden Bay, Scotland. Stoker continued to write fiction for the rest of his life, achieving moderate success as a novelist. Known more for his association with London theatre during his life, his reputation as an artist has grown since his death, aided in part by film and television adaptations of Dracula, the enduring popularity of the horror genre, and abundant interest in his work from readers and scholars around the world.
Book Information
ISBN 9781513207209
Author Bram Stoker
Format Hardback
Page Count 258
Imprint Graphic Arts Books
Publisher Graphic Arts Books
Series Mint Editions
