{{short description|2005 novel by Elizabeth Kostova}} {{About|the 2005 novel by Elizabeth Kostova|the academic journal|The Historian (journal)|the 2014 film|The Historian (film)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox book | name = The Historian | title_orig = | translator = | image = Historiancover.jpg | alt = Dark brown book cover saying "The HISTORIAN"; then "A Novel" in a shiny gold stripe, then "ELIZABETH KOSTOVA". A few thin reddish streaks stretch from the top almost to the bottom. | caption = ''The Historian'''s first edition cover shows a blood red curtain with a snippet of a picture of a man's face laid across it. Although the book is a vampire novel, Kostova promised herself "that only a cup of blood would be spilled" in the novel.<ref>"An anaemic Prince of Darkness", ''Hindustan Times'' (16 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 9 May 2009.</ref><ref name=Wheelwright/> | author = Elizabeth Kostova | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = United States | language = English | series = | subject = | genre = | published = 2005 (Little, Brown and Company) | pages = | isbn = 0-316-01177-0 | oclc = | dewey = | congress = | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} '''''The Historian''''' is the 2005 debut novel of American author Elizabeth Kostova. The plot blends the history and folklore of Vlad Țepeș and his fictional equivalent Count Dracula. Kostova's father told her stories about Dracula when she was a child, and later in life she was inspired to turn the experience into a novel. She worked on the book for ten years and then sold it within a few months to Little, Brown and Company, which bought it for {{Nowrap|US$2 million}}.
''The Historian'' has been described as a combination of genres, including Gothic novel, adventure novel, detective fiction, travelogue, postmodern historical novel, epistolary epic, and historical thriller. Kostova was intent on writing a serious work of literature and saw herself as an inheritor of the Victorian style. Although based in part on Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'', ''The Historian'' is not a horror novel, but rather an eerie tale. It is concerned with history's role in society and representation in books, as well as the nature of good and evil. As Kostova explains, "Dracula is a metaphor for the evil that is so hard to undo in history."<ref name=Sullivan/> The evils brought about by religious conflict are a particular theme, and the novel explores the relationship between the Christian West and the Islamic East.
Little, Brown and Company heavily promoted the book and it became the first debut novel to become number one on ''The New York Times'' bestseller list in its first week on sale. As of 2005, it was the fastest-selling hardback debut novel in U.S. history. In general, the novel received mixed reviews. While some praised the book's description of the setting, others criticized its structure and lack of tonal variety. Kostova received the 2006 Book Sense award for Best Adult Fiction and the 2005 Quill Award for Debut Author of the Year. Sony has bought the film rights and, as of 2007, was planning an adaptation.
== Plot summary == {{long plot|date=March 2026}} {{Quote box |width = 30em |border = 1px |align = right |bgcolor = #c6dbf7 |fontsize = 85% |title_bg = |title_fnt = |title = |quote = How these papers have been placed in sequence will be made manifest in the reading of them. All needless matters have been eliminated so that a history almost at variance with the possibilities of latter-day belief may stand forth as simple fact. There is throughout no statement of past things wherein memory may err, for all the records chosen are exactly contemporary, given from the stand-points and within the range of knowledge of those who made them. |salign = right |source =—Epigraph to Part One of ''The Historian'' from Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1897)<ref>Elizabeth Kostova, ''The Historian'' (New York: Back Bay Books, 2005), {{ISBN|0-316-15454-7}}, p. 1.</ref> }}
''The Historian'' interweaves the history and folklore of Vlad Țepeș, a 15th-century prince of Wallachia known as "Vlad the Impaler", and his fictional equivalent Count Dracula together with the story of Paul, a professor; his 16-year-old daughter; and their quest for Vlad's tomb. The novel ties together three separate narratives using letters and oral accounts: that of Paul's mentor in the 1930s, that of Paul in the 1950s, and that of the narrator herself in the 1970s. The tale is told primarily from the perspective of Paul's daughter, who is never named.
===Part I=== Part I opens in 1972 Amsterdam. The narrator finds an old vellum-bound book with a woodcut of a dragon in the center associated with Dracula. When she asks her father Paul about it, he tells her how he found the handmade book in his study carrel when he was a graduate student in the 1950s. Paul took the book to his mentor, Professor Bartholomew Rossi, and was shocked to find that Rossi had found a similar handmade book when he was a graduate student in the 1930s. As a result, Rossi researched Țepeș, the Dracula myth surrounding him, and the mysterious book. Rossi traveled as far as Istanbul; however, the appearance of curious characters and unexplained events caused him to drop his investigation and return to his graduate work. Rossi gives Paul his research notes and informs him that he believes Dracula is still alive.
The bulk of the novel focuses on the 1950s timeline, which follows Paul's adventures. After meeting with Paul, Rossi disappears; smears of blood on his desk and the ceiling of his office are the only traces that remain. Certain that something unfortunate has befallen his advisor, Paul begins to investigate Dracula. While in the university library he meets a young, dark-haired woman reading a copy of Bram Stoker's ''Dracula''. She is Helen Rossi, the daughter of Bartholomew Rossi, and she has become an expert on Dracula. Paul attempts to convince her that one of the librarians is trying to prevent their research into Dracula, but she is unpersuaded. Later, the librarian attacks and bites Helen. Paul intervenes and overpowers him, but he wriggles free. The librarian is then run over by a car in front of the library and apparently killed.
Upon hearing her father's story, the narrator becomes interested in the mystery and begins researching Dracula as she and her father travel across Europe during the 1970s. Although he eventually sends her home, she does not remain there. After finding letters addressed to her that reveal he has left on a quest to find her mother (previously believed to be dead), she sets out to find him. As is slowly made clear in the novel, Helen is the narrator's mother. The letters continue the story her father has been telling her. The narrator decides to travel to a monastery where she believes her father might be.
===Part II=== Part II begins as the narrator reads descriptions of her father and Helen's travels through Eastern Europe during the 1950s. While on their travels, Helen and Paul conclude that Rossi might have been taken by Dracula to his tomb. They travel to Istanbul to find the archives of Sultan Mehmed II, which Paul believes contain information regarding the location of the tomb. They fortuitously meet Professor Turgut Bora from Istanbul University, who has also discovered a book similar to Paul's and Rossi's. He has access to Mehmed's archive, and together they unearth several important documents. They also see the librarian who was supposedly killed in the United States – he has survived because he is a vampire and he has continued following Helen and Paul. Helen shoots the vampire librarian but misses his heart and consequently, he does not die.
From Istanbul, Paul and Helen travel to Budapest, Hungary, to further investigate the location of Dracula's tomb and to meet with Helen's mother, who they believe may have knowledge of Rossi – the two had met during his travels to Romania in the 1930s. For the first time Helen hears of her mother and Rossi's torrid love affair. Paul and Helen learn much, for example that Helen's mother, and therefore Helen herself and the narrator, are descendants of Vlad Țepeș.
===Part III=== Part III begins with a revelation by Turgut Bora that leads the search for Dracula's tomb to Bulgaria. He also reveals that he is part of an organization formed by Sultan Mehmed II from the elite of the Janissaries to fight the Order of the Dragon, an evil consortium later associated with Dracula. In Bulgaria, Helen and Paul seek the assistance of a scholar named Anton Stoichev. Through information gained from Stoichev, Helen and Paul discover that Dracula is most likely buried in the Bulgarian monastery of Sveti Georgi.
After many difficulties Paul and Helen discover the whereabouts of Sveti Georgi. Upon reaching the monastery they find Rossi's interred body in the crypt and are forced to drive a silver dagger through his heart to prevent his full transformation into a vampire. Before he dies, he reveals that Dracula is a scholar and has a secret library. Rossi has written an account of his imprisonment in this library and hidden it there. Paul and Helen are pursued to the monastery by political officials and by the vampire librarian – all of them are seeking Dracula's tomb, but it is empty when they arrive.
Paul and Helen move to the United States, marry, and Helen gives birth to the narrator. However, she becomes depressed a few months afterwards. She later confesses that she feared the taint of the vampiric bite that she acquired earlier would infect her child. The family travels to Europe in an attempt to cheer her up. When they visit the monastery Saint-Matthieu-des-Pyrénées-Orientales, Helen feels Dracula's presence and is compelled to jump off a cliff. Landing on grass, she survives and decides to hunt him down and kill him in order to rid herself of his threat and her fears.
When the narrator arrives at Saint-Matthieu-des-Pyrénées-Orientales, she finds her father. Individuals mentioned throughout the 1970s timeline converge in a final attempt to defeat Dracula. He is seemingly killed by a silver bullet fired into his heart by Helen.
In the epilogue, which takes place in 2008, the narrator attends a conference of medievalists in Philadelphia, and stops at a library with an extensive collection of material related to Dracula. She accidentally leaves her notes and the attendant rushes out and returns them to her, as well as a book with a dragon printed in the center, revealing that either Dracula is still alive or one of his minions is imitating the master.
==Background and publication==
===Biographical background=== Kostova's interest in the Dracula legend began with the stories her father told her about the vampire when she was a child.<ref name=Brice/> The family moved from the U.S. to Ljubljana, Slovenia in 1972, while her father was teaching for a year at a local university. During that year, the family traveled across Europe. According to Kostova, "It was the formative experience of my childhood."<ref name=Wheelwright>Julie Wheelwright, [https://archive.today/20090621190837/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/elizabeth-kostova-the-vampire-chronicler-501424.html "Elizabeth Kostova: The vampire chronicler" (original)], ''The Independent'' (5 August 2005). Retrieved 6 May 2009. [https://archive.today/20090621190837/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/elizabeth-kostova-the-vampire-chronicler-501424.html Archived copy].</ref><ref name=Guinn>Jeff Guinn, "Tapping a vein", ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' (24 July 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref> She "was fascinated by [her father's Dracula stories] because they were ... from history in a way, even though they weren't about real history, but I heard them in these beautiful historic places."<ref name=Brice>Chris Brice, "A novel with teeth", ''The Advertiser'' (24 June 2006). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 6 May 2009.</ref> Kostova's interest in books and libraries began early as well. Her mother, a librarian, frequently took her and her sisters to the public library – they were each allowed to check out 30 books and had a special shelf for their library books.<ref>Sarah Karush, "The Legend That Never Dies Brings Author a {{Nowrap|$2 Million}} Stake to Publish a First Novel", ''The State'' (5 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref>
She listened to recordings of Balkan folk music as a child and became interested in the tradition. Later, she sang in and directed a Slavic chorus while an undergraduate at Yale University.<ref name=Karush>Sarah Karush, "Dracula yarn could be summer's hot novel", ''San Jose Mercury News'' (2 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref> She and some friends traveled to Eastern Europe in 1989, specifically Bulgaria and Bosnia, to study local musical customs. The recordings they made will be deposited in the Library of Congress.<ref name=Karush/> While Kostova was in Europe, the Berlin Wall collapsed, heralding the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, events which shaped her understanding of history.<ref name=Karush/>
===Composition and publication=== [[File:Vlad Ţepeş, the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia (1456-1462) (died 1477).jpg|right|thumb|alt=Painting of a richly dressed Caucasian man's head and shoulders. He has long, curly black hair and a moustache. He is wearing a red hat with a wide band of pearls and a gold star and red gemstone on the front. He is wearing a brown fur cape, over a red and gold top.|Kostova had her "eureka moment" when she realized that the location of Vlad Țepeș's remains was unknown.<ref name=Thompson>Bob Thompson, "The Writers Bitten by the Vampire Bug", ''The Washington Post'' (28 July 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref>]]
Five years later, in 1994, when Kostova was hiking in the Appalachian Mountains with her husband, she had a flashback to those storytelling moments with her father and asked herself "what if the father were spinning his Dracula tales to his entranced daughter and Dracula were listening in? What if Dracula were still alive?"<ref name=Guinn/><ref name=Marshall/> She immediately scratched out seven pages of notes into her writer's notebook. Two days later, she started work on the novel.<ref name=Marshall/> At the time she was teaching English as a second language, creative writing and composition classes at universities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, entered the writing program at the University of Michigan and finished the book as she was obtaining her Master of Fine Arts degree.<ref name=Karush/><ref name=Dorei>Robyn Dorei, "Death becomes her", ''The Sun-Herald'' (11 September 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref>
Kostova did extensive research about Eastern Europe and Vlad Țepeș. She found a vampire-killing kit at the Mercer Museum, which included a pistol, silver bullets, a crucifix, a wooden stake, and powdered garlic.<ref name=Dorei/>thumb|Vampire-killing kit at the Mercer Museum As she was writing, she posted maps of Eastern Europe in her office and constructed a chart to help her keep track of the book's timelines.<ref name=Dorei/> Her husband, whom she had met in Bulgaria, assisted her with related geographical descriptions and diction.<ref name=Guinn/> It took her ten years to finish the novel.<ref name=Brice/>
Kostova finished the novel in January 2004 and sent it to a potential literary agent in March.<ref name=Guinn/> Two months later and within two days of sending out her manuscript to publishers, Kostova was offered a deal – she refused it.<ref name=Sullivan>Jane Sullivan, "[http://www.theage.com.au/news/books/dracula-and-the-human-factor/2006/06/02/1148956490961.html?page=fullpage Dracula and the human factor]", ''The Age'' (3 June 2006). Retrieved 17 February 2011.</ref> The rights to the book were auctioned off and Little, Brown and Company bought them for {{Nowrap|US$2 million}} (US$30,000 is typical for a first novel from an unknown author<ref name=Sucks>AP, "This book sucks", ''Herald Sun'' (11 June 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 6 May 2009.</ref>). ''Publishers Weekly'' explained the high price as a result of a bidding war between firms' believing that they might have the next ''Da Vinci Code'' within their grasp. One vice-president and associate publisher said, "Given the success of ''The Da Vinci Code'', everybody around town knows how popular the combination of thriller and history can be and what a phenomenon it can become."<ref>Natalie Danford, "Contending for the 'Da Vinci' Legacy", ''Publishers Weekly'' 252:4 (24 January 2005). EBSCO (subscription required). Retrieved 20 June 2009.</ref> Little, Brown and Company subsequently sold the rights in 28 countries.<ref name=Jones>Malcolm Jones, [http://www.newsweek.com/id/50088 "A High-Stakes Debut" (original)], ''Newsweek'' (13 June 2005). Retrieved 6 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090925021741/http://www.newsweek.com/id/50088 Archived copy].</ref> The book was published in the United States on 14 June 2005.
==Genre and style== {{further|Vampire literature}}
''The Historian'' has been described as a combination of genres, including the Gothic novel, the adventure novel, the detective novel,<ref name=Sutherland>Claire Sutherland, "History gets literary", ''The Herald Sun'' (19 August 2006). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> the travelogue,<ref name=Miller>Laura Miller, [http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2005/06/06/kostova/ "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova (original)], Salon.com (6 June 2005). Retrieved 6 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080612133414/http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2005/06/06/kostova/ Archived copy].</ref> the postmodern historical novel,<ref>Lesley McDowell, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100608190342/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova-502878.html "The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova" (original)], ''The Independent'' (14 August 2005). Retrieved 7 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100608190342/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova-502878.html Archived copy].</ref> the epistolary epic,<ref name=Sibree>Bron Sibree, "Dracula rides again", ''The Courier Mail'' (24 September 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> and the historical thriller.
[[File:Bram Stoker1.jpg|right|thumb|alt=Black-and-white photo of a portly bearded man in a suit|According to Kostova, Bram Stoker "created Dracula as a brilliant figure; a creature that is part monster and part genius. Dracula represents the best and worst of us."<ref>Bill Castanier, [http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-518-novel-takes-a-different-look-at-dracula-through-lost-letters.html "Novel takes a different look at Dracula through lost letters" (original)], www.lansingcitypulse.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110728031932/http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-518-novel-takes-a-different-look-at-dracula-through-lost-letters.html Archived copy].</ref>]]
Kostova wanted to write a serious literary novel, with scholarly heroes, that was at the same time reminiscent of 19th-century adventures.<ref name=Brice/> She was inspired by Victorian writers such as Wilkie Collins; his novel ''The Moonstone'' (1868), with its plot twists and bevy of narrators, was "a major model".<ref name=Carey>Anna Carey, "Mad about Vlad", ''The Irish Times'' (6 August 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> The primary literary ancestor of ''The Historian'', however, is Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1897).<ref name=Wheelwright/> For example, in ''The Historian'' and ''Dracula'', the protagonist is both fascinated and repulsed by Dracula.<ref name=Arpe>Malene Arpe, "At times, hype can be justified", ''The Toronto Star'' (19 June 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> Both are told through a series of letters and memoirs.<ref name=Balee>Susan Balee, "On a scholarly hunt for bad old Vlad's tomb", ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' (12 July 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> ''The Historian'' also includes many intertextual references to Stoker's work – Dracula even owns a copy of the novel.<ref name=Stevenson>Jane Stevenson, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jul/24/fiction.features "Neckrophilia" (original)], ''The Observer'' (24 July 2005). Retrieved 7 May 2009. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jul/24/fiction.features Archived copy].</ref> Yet, Kostova shapes Dracula into her own character. While Stoker's vampire is the focus of his novel, Kostova's is at the edges. Moreover, the blend of the fictional Dracula and the historical Vlad "adds a sinister and frightening edge" to the character, according to scholar Stine Fletcher.<ref name=Fletcher>Stine Fletcher, [http://www.lsu.edu/necrofile/kostava19.htm "Reader, Unbury Him with a Word" (original)], ''Necropsy: The Review of Horror Fiction'' (1 November 2005). Retrieved 28 May 2005. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100618231800/http://www.lsu.edu/necrofile/kostava19.htm Archived copy].</ref>
Despite its Gothic roots, ''The Historian'' is not suffused with violence nor is it a horror novel. Kostova aimed to write a "chilling" Victorian ghost story,<ref name=Carey/> and her realistic style is what creates this effect.<ref name=Taylor/> Marlene Arpe of ''The Toronto Star'' praises Kostova's imagery in particular, quoting the following passage:
{{blockquote|A smell rose from its pages that was not merely the delicate scent of aging paper and cracked vellum. It was a reek of decay, a terrible, sickening odor, a smell of old meat or corrupted flesh. I had never noticed it before and I leaned closer, sniffing, unbelieving, then shut the book. I reopened it, after a moment, and again stomach-churning fumes arose from its pages. The little volume seemed alive in my hands, yet it smelled like death.<ref name=Arpe/>}}
As Peter Bebergal explains in ''The Boston Globe'', "Instead of fetishizing blood, Kostova fetishizes documents (manuscripts, maps, letters) and the places that house them (libraries, archives and monasteries)."<ref name="Bebergal">{{cite web |last=Bebergal |first=Peter |title=Literary take on vampires gives 'Historian' bite |work=The Boston Globe |date=June 15, 2005 |access-date=2025-12-10 |url=https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2005/06/15/literary_take_on_vampires_gives_historian_bite/ }}</ref> As one critic explains, "the real horror rests in the possibility of what Dracula truly is".<ref name=Taylor/> For example, the narrator comments:
{{blockquote|The thing that most haunted me that day, however, as I closed my notebook and put my coat on to go home, was not my ghostly image of Dracula, or the description of impalement, but the fact that these things had – apparently – actually occurred. If I listened too closely, I thought, I would hear the screams of the boys, of the 'large family' dying together. For all his attention to my historical education, my father had neglected to tell me this: history's terrible moments were real. I understand now, decades later, that he could never have told me. Only history itself can convince you of such a truth. And once you've seen that truth – really seen it – you can't look away.<ref name=Taylor>Seth Taylor, "Impaled by the past", ''San Diego Union-Tribune'' (26 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref>}}
The novel's tone and structure place it within the serious literary tradition for which Kostova was aiming. For example, the alternating timelines are suggestive of A. S. Byatt's ''Possession'' (1990) and the intermingling of academia and the occult suggests Arturo Perez-Reverte's ''The Club Dumas'' (1993).<ref name=Murray>Steve Murray, "A Dracula with teeth", ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (26 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref> Although many reviewers compared ''The Historian'' to Dan Brown's historical thriller ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), Kostova has said her book "is part of a tradition where literary craft and experiments in form are all as important as action ... the only overlap is this idea of people searching for something in history. I'm still surprised when people make this comparison, I'm very grateful my publisher has never pushed it."<ref name=Sullivan/> Moreover, the only real historical personage in her novel is Vlad Țepeș and she changed the name of some locations "fearing some readers might confuse fantasy and reality, as they have with Brown's novels".<ref>Marti Davis, "'The Historian' – UT prof's spooky stories inspired author-daughter's best-selling novel", ''Knoxville News-Sentinel'' (3 July 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref>
Reviewers praised Kostova's lush descriptions of the setting and the fascinating European cities and countries which the story traverses: Amsterdam, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, France, Oxford, Switzerland and Italy.<ref name=Bloodmoney/>
==Themes== left|thumb|alt=Photograph of a row of ancient books, some with disintegrating leather covers|''The Historian'' is suffused with "the sensual and intellectual pleasures to be found in dusty old libraries, with their leather-bound books and fading maps".<ref name=Larson/>
History and questions about its role in society pervade ''The Historian''. In particular, the novel argues that knowledge of history is power, particularly as it is written in books.<ref name=Sullivan/> The title can refer to any of the major characters, including Dracula.<ref>Jane Halsall, et al., "The Historian", ''School Library Journal'' 51:10 (October 2005). EBSCO (subscription required). Retrieved 20 June 2009.</ref> As Nancy Baker explains in ''The Globe and Mail'', the novel is "about the love of books" and the knowledge and comfort they offer the characters – even Dracula himself is a bibliophile.<ref name=Murdoch/><ref name=Baker/> As one critic explains, the novel is specifically about the love of scholarship.<ref name=Larson>Susan Larson, "He's baaack", ''The Times-Picayune'' (15 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref> At the heart of the novel is an exploration of "the power and price of scholarly obsession".<ref name=Larson/> As Paul explains in the novel:
{{blockquote|It is a fact that we historians are interested in what is partly a reflection of ourselves we would rather not examine except through the medium of scholarship; it is also true that as we steep ourselves in our interests, they become more and more a part of us. Visiting an American university ... I was introduced to one of the first of the great American historians of Nazi Germany. He lived in a comfortable house at the edge of the campus, where he collected not only books on his topic but also the official china of the Third Reich. His dogs, two enormous German shepherds, patrolled the front yard day and night. Over drinks with other faculty members, he told me in no uncertain terms how he despised Hitler's crimes and wanted to expose them in the greatest possible detail to the outside world. I left the party early, walking carefully past those big dogs, unable to shake my revulsion.<ref name=Larson/>}}
The novel explores questions of good and evil and as Jessica Treadway states in ''The Chicago Tribune'', it "is intriguing for its thorough examination of what constitutes evil and why it exists". For example, Dracula at one point asks Rossi:
{{blockquote|History has taught us that the nature of man is evil, sublimely so. Good is not perfectible, but evil is. Why should you not use your great mind in service of what is perfectible? ... There is no purity like the purity of the sufferings of history. You will have what every historian wants: history will be reality to you. We will wash our minds clean with blood.<ref name=Treadway/>}}
As Kostova explains, "Dracula is a metaphor for the evil that is so hard to undo in history."<ref name=Sullivan/> For example, he is shown influencing Eastern European tyrants and supporting national socialism in Transylvania.<ref name=Stevenson/> He is "vainglorious, vindictive, [and] vicious".<ref name=Murdoch>Sarah Murdoch, "Impaled on a serpentine plot", ''National Post'' (9 July 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> As Michael Dirda explains in ''The Washington Post'', the novel conveys the idea that "Most of history's worst nightmares result from an unthinking obedience to authority, high-minded zealotry seductively overriding our mere humanity."<ref name=Dirda/> It is in the figure of the vampire that Kostova reveals this, since "our fear of Dracula lies in the fear of losing ourselves, of relinquishing our very identities as human beings".<ref name=Dirda/> In fact, the narrator is never named in the novel, suggesting, as one critic explains, "that the quest for the dark side of human nature is more universal than specific to a concrete character".<ref name=Treadway>Jessica Treadway, "Raising the undead", ''Chicago Tribune'' (12 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref>
Religion is also a dominant theme of ''The Historian''. Dracula is Christian and, as Bebergal explains, "Much of what is frightening in the novel is the suggestion of heretical Christian practices and conspiratorial monks."<ref name=Bebergal/> Kostova herself notes that the world is still "wracked by religious conflict", therefore historical fiction about the topic is relevant.<ref>Patti Thorn, "Vampire tale stirs in author's blood", ''Rocky Mountain News'' (13 August 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> The portions of the novel set in Istanbul, for example, highlight the extent to which the real Vlad detested the Ottomans, waging holy war upon them.<ref name=Dirda>Michael Dirda, "A specter is haunting Europe, ...", ''The Washington Post'' (12 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref> More specifically, Amir Taheri in ''Asharq Alawsat'' argues that the novel highlights the relationship between the West and Turkey. The West, which is laden with the "dead" weight of this past (represented by the vampires) needs the help of Turkey (and perhaps the entire Muslim world) to recover. As Taheri points out, one of the most appealing characters in the novel is Professor Bora, a Turkish professor who is part of an ancient Ottoman society dedicated to defeating Dracula.<ref name=Taheri>Amir Taheri, [http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=8&id=3256 "Review of The Historian" (original)], ''Asharq Alawsat'' (31 December 2005). Retrieved 29 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061019073705/http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=8&id=3256 Archived copy].</ref> Taheri emphasizes that the novel highlights that "Western civilisation and Islam have common enemies represented by 'vampires' such as postmodernism in Europe and obscurantism in the Muslim world".<ref name=Taheri/>
==Reception== {{Quote box |width = 30em |border = 1px |align = right |bgcolor = #c6dbf7 |fontsize = 85% |title_bg = |title_fnt = |title = |quote = ''The Historian'' amounts to something profound, messy, and wondrously mathematical at times ... We encounter obsession, possession, and the struggle against the brevity of life. It is an exploration of the eternal desire for intimacy. The innocent are as vulnerable as the woefully enlightened. They just do not know it yet. |salign = right |source =—Saffron Burrows<ref>Saffron Burrows, [https://archive.today/20240524102628/https://www.webcitation.org/5hhhTo4sZ?url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article543958.ece "The tooth is out there" (original)], ''The Times'' (16 July 2005). Retrieved 10 May 2009. [https://archive.today/20240524102628/https://www.webcitation.org/5hhhTo4sZ?url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article543958.ece Archived copy].</ref> }}
Little, Brown and Company spent $500,000 heavily promoting ''The Historian''.<ref>Edward Wyatt, [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E4D61F3BF937A15755C0A9639C8B63&scp=4&sq=kostova%20wyatt&st=cse "Not Bad for Starters" (original)], ''The New York Times'' (24 June 2005). Retrieved 7 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121107114917/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E4D61F3BF937A15755C0A9639C8B63&scp=4&sq=kostova%20wyatt&st=cse Archived copy].</ref> In what ''Publishers Weekly'' called a "carefully calibrated advertising campaign",<ref name=Nelson>Sara Nelson, "The Hot 'Historian'", ''Publishers Weekly'' 252:27 (11 July 2005). EBSCO (subscription required). Retrieved 20 July 2009.</ref> 7,000 advance copies were sent to booksellers, and in January 2005 Kostova began her book promotion tour six months before the novel's publication. She met with book retailers who, impressed with her presentation, bought large numbers of the book.<ref name=Trachtenberg/> As an article in ''The Age'' explains, "By the time it arrived in the bookstores, ''The Historian'' had already made the news several times".<ref name=Griffin>Michelle Griffin, "The Vampire code", ''The Age'' (8 August 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> As soon as the book was published in June, Kostova went on a 15-city tour, including book signings and readings, which prompted further media reports on it. She appeared on ABC's ''Good Morning America'' on 28 June,<ref name=Trachtenberg/> and there were stories about the novel in ''USA Today'', ''Entertainment Weekly'' and ''Newsweek''. Kostova was billed as the next literary phenomenon, the next Alice Sebold or Susanna Clarke.<ref name=Marshall>John Marshall, "It was in her blood", ''The Orlando Sentinel'' (31 July 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref>
''The Historian'' was the first debut novel to land at number one on ''The New York Times'' bestseller list<ref name=Brice/> in its first week on sale, and as of 2005 was the fastest-selling hardback debut novel in U.S. history.<ref name=Bloodmoney>"Blood money", ''South China Morning Post'' (25 September 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> The book sold more copies on its first day in print than ''The Da Vinci Code'' – 70,000 copies were sold in the first week alone.<ref name=Nelson/><ref name=Younge>Gary Younge, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jul/18/fiction.news "Bigger than Dan Brown" (original)], ''The Guardian'' (18 July 2005). Retrieved 7 May 2009. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jul/18/fiction.news Archived copy].</ref> As of the middle of August 2005, the novel had already sold 915,000 copies in the U.S. and had gone through six printings.<ref name=Trachtenberg>Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, "Fortunes ride on summer fiction", ''Chicago Sun-Times'' (17 August 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> (For comparison, according to ''Publishers Weekly'', only ten fiction books sold more than 800,000 hardcover copies in the US in 2004.)<ref name=Parsons>Claudia Parsons, "History in the making", ''Townsville Bulletin'' (30 July 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref> Little, Brown and Company also released an edition of ''Dracula'' in September 2005 with an introduction by Kostova, thinking her readers would want to delve into the original novel after reading hers.<ref name=Fletcher/><ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316014818 ''Dracula'' (original)]. Amazon.com. Retrieved 28 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090126220858/http://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Bram-Stoker/dp/0316014818 Archived copy].</ref> Kostova is one of the few female bestselling authors, but her popularity is unusual because it is founded on a literary novel.<ref>Delia O'Hara, "Fact: women know fiction: It's still a man's medium, but females are rising in book publishing world charts", ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' (30 November 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref>
Reviews of the novel were "at best, mixed".<ref name=Nelson/> Several reviewers noted that Kostova described the setting of her novel well; Laura Miller of Salon.com, for example, wrote that "Kostova has a genius for evoking places".<ref name=Miller/><ref name=Baker>Nancy Baker, "The Dracula Code?", ''The Globe and Mail'' (2 July 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> Malcolm Jones of ''Newsweek'' wrote that the novel was "strikingly fresh and unformulaic".<ref name=Jones/> Baker praised Kostova's prose, saying that it "has a leisurely grace".<ref name=Baker/> Francis Atkinson of ''The Age'' praised the "Gothic sensuality" of the novel.<ref>Francis Atkinson, "Dusty pages from Gothic past breathe new life into Dracula", ''The Age'' (3 July 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> However, some thought the book was too long, or criticized Kostova's lack of tonal variety; Janet Maslin wrote in ''The New York Times'' that the book was "ponderous" and had a "contorted narrative structure".<ref name=Maslin>Janet Maslin, [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E5D91E38F930A25755C0A9639C8B63&fta=y&scp=4&sq=kostova&st=cse "Scholarship Trumps the Stake in Pursuit of Dracula" (original)], ''The New York Times'' (13 June 2005). Retrieved 7 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121107114740/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E5D91E38F930A25755C0A9639C8B63&fta=y&scp=4&sq=kostova&st=cse Archived copy].</ref> Jane Stevenson of ''The Observer'' agreed, noting that the multiple timelines and narrators of the novel were not sufficiently differentiated.<ref name=Stevenson/> Several reviewers complained that the climax of the novel was a disappointment and that Dracula was not terrifying.<ref name=Murray/>
According to Paul Wagenbreth of ''The News-Gazette'', the novel's fundamental weakness is that after the slow buildup, "there is a final shying away from a full rendering of the nature of the beast. ... there's a curious holding back here as elsewhere from a really probing look at the seductive appeal of vampirism, particularly the sensuality at its core."<ref name=Wagenbreth>Paul Wagenbreth, "'The Historian': In search of the real Dracula", ''The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)'' (23 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref> Susanna Sturgis, agreed, writing in the ''Women's Review of Books'' that the plot dragged and that "the reader loses interest" in the core mysteries of the novel.<ref name=Sturgis>Susanna J. Sturgis, [http://www.wcwonline.org/?option=com_content&task=view&id=1371&Itemid=38 "Living the Undead Life"], ''Women's Review of Books'' (Jan/February 2006). Retrieved 20 June 2009.</ref> Ong Sor Fern of ''The Straits Times'' criticized Kostova's portrayal of women, writing that her unnamed female narrator "feels even more drab and colourless than Stoker's idealised female, Mina Harker".<ref>Ong Sor Fern, "Female appetites starved of ideas", ''The Straits Times'' (23 August 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> Sturgis criticized Kostova's characterization in general, contending that the major characters seemed more like "disembodied tour guides".<ref name=Sturgis/> Polly Shulman of ''Newsday'' also argued that the book "fail[s] to grapple with its supposed themes: evil, death and history". She saw "little of the terror of these periods" in the novel and little of the tension between the Islamic East and the Christian West.<ref name=Shulman>Polly Shulman, "Vlad behavior", ''Newsday'' (26 June 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 10 May 2009.</ref>
==Awards== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Award !! Year !! Result |- |Hopwood Award for Novel-in-progress |2003 |bgcolor="#ddffdd"|Winner<ref>Anne Vandermey, [http://www.michigandaily.com/content/alum-got-her-start-u-writing-program "Alum got her start in 'U' writing program" (original)], ''The Michigan Daily'' (16 April 2006). Retrieved 10 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110525151556/http://www.michigandaily.com/content/alum-got-her-start-u-writing-program Archived copy].</ref> |- |Quill Award for Debut Author of the Year |2005 |bgcolor="#ddffdd"|Winner<ref>Staff, "National book prizes awarded", ''Tulsa World'' (16 October 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref> |- |International Horror Guild Award for Best Novel |2005 |Nominated<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.horroraward.org/prevrec.html#2005 |title=International Horror Guild Recipients (2005) |publisher=International Horror Guild |access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref> |- |Book Sense Award for Best Adult Fiction |2006 |bgcolor="#ddffdd"|Winner<ref>[http://www.bookweb.org/btw/awards/BSBY.html The Book Sense Book of the Year (original)]. American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 7 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090217225043/http://bookweb.org/btw/awards/BSBY.html Archived copy].</ref> |}
==Adaptations==
===Audio book=== The 12-hour abridged audio book, released by Time Warner, is narrated by six different actors (Joanne Whalley, Martin Jarvis, Dennis Boutsikaris, Jim Ward, Rosalyn Landor and Robin Atkin Downes). Boutsikaris' voicing of Paul has been called "flat" while ''Publishers Weekly'' complained that it was "nonchalant and impersonal". They also singled out the voicing of Dracula for criticism, writing that "his accent and delivery is exactly the stereotypical vampire voice used by everyone from Bela Lugosi to Sesame Street's the Count".<ref name=PWAudio>"The Historian", ''Publishers Weekly'' 252:35 (5 September 2005). EBSCO (subscription required). Retrieved 20 June 2009.</ref> There is swelling orchestral music at the beginning and end of each chapter, of which the reviewers approved.<ref name=OGorman>Rochelle O'Gorman, "Kostova's bestseller 'The Historian' is a traditional spine-tingler on audiobook", ''The Berkshire Eagle'' (30 September 2005). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref><ref>Kim Bunce, "Review: Audio", ''The Observer'' (7 August 2005). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 7 May 2009.</ref>
The 26-hour unabridged audio book, released by Books on Tape (a division of Random House), is narrated by Justine Eyre and [https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/narrator/60113/paul-michael/ Paul Michael]. According to ''Booklist'', they "do an incredible job voicing an array of characters with European accents ranging from Dutch, French, and German". Noting that the book is particularly suited for audio because it is told in letters, they praise Eyre's "earnest and innocent" tone in her voicing of the narrator and Michael's "clear characterizations".<ref>"The Historian", ''Booklist'' 102:16 (15 April 2006). EBSCO (subscription required). Retrieved 20 June 2009.</ref>
===Film=== In 2005, prior to its publication, Sony bought the film rights to the novel for {{Nowrap|$1.5 million}}, but has yet to go into production.<ref name=Brice/><ref>Michael Fleming, [https://variety.com/2005/more/news/sony-buys-rights-to-the-historian-1117922899/ "Sony buys rights to 'The Historian'"], ''Variety'' (16 May 2005). Retrieved 20 May 2013.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930001514/http://the-historian.net/ ''The Historian'' fansite]
{{Dracula}} {{Featured article}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Historian, The}} Category:2005 debut novels Category:2005 American novels Category:2005 English-language novels Category:2000s adventure novels Category:American historical novels Category:American detective novels Category:American gothic novels Category:American thriller novels Category:American adventure novels Category:American novels about vampires Category:Dracula novels Category:Travel novels Category:Postmodern novels Category:Epistolary novels Category:Epic novels Category:Secret histories Category:Novels based on novels Category:Novels set in Bulgaria Category:Novels set in Istanbul Category:Novels set in Budapest Category:Novels set in Amsterdam Category:Novels set in Philadelphia Category:Novels set in the 1950s Category:Novels set in 1972 Category:Novels set in the 1970s Category:Novels set in 2008 Category:Novels set in the 2000s Category:Novels about religion Category:Cultural depictions of Vlad the Impaler Category:Cultural depictions of Mehmed II Category:Novels by Elizabeth Kostova Category:Little, Brown and Company books