Mr Stoker and the Vampires of the Lyceum

I really enjoyed "Mr Stoker and the Vampires of the Lyceum" by Matthew Gibson. I'm not sure it was supposed to be a comedy but by the end I was laughing so much (not in a bad way either). It reminded me of the mash-up books (Pride & Prejudice & Zombies or Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) which are particularly skilled in taking a popular novel or historical character and inserting a supernatural narrative in the gaps, and this reflected this too: The story of Bram Stoker and his time at the Lyceum Theatre against a back story of a mysterious vampire killer and Jack the Ripper. Full of atmosphere. Excellent stuff!

For me, this was just great fun.
It's starts with a lot of name dropping, and then moves on to clue dropping.
I wanted to award myself a point every time I spotted something that referenced Dracula.
With all that and added Jack the Ripper, it ticked a lot of boxes for me on what I find to be a very good read

Overall, I really enjoyed Mr Stoker and the Vampires of the Lyceum. It's a well-written and entertaining novel that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, mystery, or horror..

Have not read this authors work before apparentley its his first novel,
combining a tale of characters from victorian times jack the ripper and dracula
is genius. a fast paced thrilling book that keeps the reader enthalled he is a great author and i hope he writes
more books very soon .its five stars from i.
i love the gothic and this is top class.
thank you netgallery for allowing me to read this copy.
review sent to goodreads

"Mr. Stoker and the Vampires of the Lyceum," by Dr. Matthew Gibson and published by Book Guild Publishing (who graciously provided me with an ARC for review), is a marvelous trip back in time to the London of the late Victorian period populated with real and imaginary characters drawn from the period. The book revolves around Bram Stoker (in real life, the author of "Dracula" and an acknowledged master of the Gothic genre). This works largely because Dr. Gibson is an acknowledged authority on this genre, and is able to demonstrate the depth of his knowledge through his own mastery of the literary conventions associated with Gothic literature. In short, the tale is not so much about the adventures or misadventures of its putative protagonist, Bram Stoker, as it is about the structural features of the Gothic genre. Now this genre is built on overwrought atmospherics and the clash of possible supernatural forces with the more banal evil of mankind. The London in which much of the novel is set, with some European digressions, is familiar to most modern readers through books and literature like "The Picture of Dorian Gray," or Stoker's own "Dracula." As if the literature itself isn't enough, the Gothic genre lends itself to film and the stage because of its basis in atmospheric detail and melodrama rooted therein. Think of London horse drawn cabs, Cockney accents and all embracing fog as well as elaborate period detail, and you will get the idea. I find the film versions of these works far more effective than their literary premises precisely because of their dependence on the visual setting rather than character or plot development. Nonetheless, Professor Gibson's work is an entertaining read that only improves as it goes along once you accept it on its own terms. Between Jack the Ripper and Dracula, not to speak of a variety of literary characters drawn from the the nineteenth century, this book is a treat.

London 1888. During rehearsals at the Lyceum, a scream is heard coming from the cellar resulting in the discovery of a young female who had been attacked. By whom and how. There is also the murders by Jack the Ripper, coupled with the suspicious behaviour of Henry Irving and Ellen Terry to contend with. What can Bram Stoker think or do to solve the mysteries.
An entertaining Victorian gothic tale. A well-written story with its interesting and varied characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Matthew Gibson writes a creative and enjoyable exploration of vampire fiction. Ideal for readers looking for polished crafting and a fresh take.

Matthew Gibson is an author who knows quite a lot about vampires and an awful lot more about Bram Stoker. What fun it was to read a novel full of gruesome facts and ghoulish fiction so perfectly transformed into the Grand Guignol of Victorian Gothic.
The author pays homage here to the best of the Victorian mystery writers: Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu and Arthur Conan-Doyle, with a plot which wouldn't have felt out of place in a Wilkie Collins novel or even one of the classic Hammer horror films.
All the tropes we love to fear are in play: a horse-drawn hearse driven at breakneck speed through the fog-shrouded streets of London, an Eastern European castle fortress, a few beheaded peasants and a swift stake through the heart - and offstage there's even Jack the Ripper to up the terror tempo.
Fabulous!

Matthew Gibson invites the reader to become so intimately acquainted with Mr Stoker’s finely drawn characters that you can almost taste the blood on the lips of its villain.

He has also managed to marry the wider context of late-Victorian culture – from geopolitics to gender politics and from high art to the rise of the gutter press – seamlessly with the minutiae of social history in the domestic details of Mr Stoker’s ‘cast’.

Take a seat in the dress circle and prepare to suspend disbelief as the boundaries are blurred between real-life protagonists and their fictional associates, and the scene is set for a theatrical journey – on and off-stage.

We are transported at speed from an uneasy London, reeling from the brutal murders of ‘actresses’ in Whitechapel and steeped in anti-Irish sentiment, to the ‘otherness’ of Eastern Europe. As the two worlds collide, nothing is quite as it seems and everyone appears to be under suspicion.

This is a novel which is not afraid to question itself and to re-imagine the events leading to Dracula’s publication.

Bravo, Mr Stoker!

I will admit that I was a little apprehensive about reading this title, as I tend to prefer the prototypes when it comes to the gothic or the terrific. I saw that David Punter had lent a very positive line to the initial read, a titan of a figure in the study of terror, so I was willing to give this a go on his recommendation!

Like other reviewers, I actually found this a lot of fun, it is entertaining with all sorts of clever references to culture, both historical and literary. If you really do like a straight dose of terror, it is definitely here, but not without palate cleansers of fun to help along the way.

I could easily see this adapted for the small screen - a very visual read, using the known tale that Stoker wrote his famous novel within the walls of the Lyceum, to take the reader into the unknown of just what exactly Stoker might have seen, heard and felt to inspire him to put pen to paper...

A thoroughly enjoyable Victorian fictional romp featuring Bram Stoker and acting legends Henry Irvine and Ellen Terry. As a Kent resident I have visited Ellen Terry’s country home Smallhythe Place and I loved the inclusion of her as a character. Absolutely brilliant and I hope there are more of these books!