num_pages: 1172
description: For centuries, the story of Dracula has captured the imagination of readers and storytellers alike. Kostova's breathtaking first novel, ten years in the writing, is an accomplished retelling of this ancient tale. "The story that follows is one I never intended to commit to paper... As an historian, I have learned that, in fact, not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it." With these words, a nameless narrator unfolds a story that began 30 years earlier. Late one night in 1972, as a 16-year-old girl, she discovers a mysterious book and a sheaf of letters in her father's library—a discovery that will have dreadful and far-reaching consequences, and will send her on a journey of mind-boggling danger. While seeking clues to the secrets of her father's past and her mother's puzzling disappearance, she follows a trail from London to Istanbul to Budapest and beyond, and learns that the letters in her possession provide a link to one of the world's darkest and most intoxicating figures. Generation after generation, the legend of Dracula has enticed and eluded both historians and opportunists alike. Now a young girl undertakes the same search that ended in the death and defilement of so many others—in an attempt to save her father from an unspeakable fate.(Fall 2005 Selection)
language: English
title: The Historian
titlecomplete: The Historian
characters: Hugh James, Evá Orbán, Stephen Barley, ____ Getzi, Anton Stoichev, Vlad III, Helen Rossi, Turgut Bora, Bartholomew Rossi, Paul Ross
genres: Fiction, Historical, Gothic, Mystery, Thriller, Vampires, Horror, Paranormal, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
ratings_count: 262011
places: Budapest, Istanbul, England, Turkey, Hungary, Oxford University, Oxford, England, Netherlands, Amsterdam
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: International Horror Guild Award
category: Best Novel, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: Hopwood Award
category: Novel in-progress, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Book Sense Book of the Year Award
category: Best Adult Fiction, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: The Quill Award
category: Debut Author of the Year, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Lord Ruthven Award
category: Fiction
publisher: Thorndike Press