An unfortunate side effect is how he has been envisioned in so many popular ways that a writer who finds a different way to depict him must carefully balance this new idea with the intertextual baggage of Bela Lugosi, Frank Langella or any other depiction a reader could associate with the Count. This could have been the biggest challenge for Kostova, who responds with a bit of the familiar and a bit of history (true to the title) – and by cleverly dodging any direct description of him beyond historical records and painted portraits until most of the book has elapsed.

Kostova’s Dracula is based to a degree on Vlad Tepes, killer of invading Turks as well as the very Wallachians he ruled. Sure that a heavenly paradise is not in his future, he uses “occult” rituals not described in much detail to become a vampire. One of the perks of being undead is the ability to collect and guard extremely old books, and Vlad loves to read. This encourages him to pursue librarians and historians who he believes are ideal candidates to join his undead army, catalogue his ancient library for him, and re-enter the world to pursue more books of interest and menace anybody on the verge of discovering Dracula’s improbable existence, scheme and whereabouts.

One of these historians is Bartolomeo Rossi, who is kidnapped early in the story. His daughter Helen and friend Paul spend much of the novel trying to rescue him, which eventually leads to a search for Paul by his own daughter. Paul’s diplomatic credentials early in the book, and Helen’s connections in different parts, allow the characters to cross the Iron Curtain and move about on the communist side of Cold War Europe, leading to rich descriptions of parts of the world unfamiliar to many readers at a time when they were mostly inaccessible to Westerners; Bulgaria and Hungary are two examples. The globetrotting heroes work through a tremendous amount of ambience and description before exposing more backstory or finding clues that tell them where to look next.

The main characters of the novel are Dracula’s prey on two levels: they are potentially valuable helpers and threats to be eliminated. He plants mysterious old books on their shelves, hoping their curiosity will cause them to track him down and in doing so prove themselves worthy helpers. He has nothing against this arrangement, since it tends to lead them right to him. Once they pass his test, he offers them the “choice” of joining him voluntarily or being forcefully recruited to the dark side.

There is plenty of narrative within narrative, but it is delivered in a manner that never lets you forget who a particular section is about. There is the main narrative of Paul’s daughter, Paul recounting stories to her, and other characters recounting stories to her through Paul, as well as every chapter where she reads a long series of letters that tell a story. Despite how Paul’s daughter is introduced as the narrator, most of the story is told by others, principally Paul.

Both the general story and envisioning of Dracula are compelling, and the level of detail makes The Historian a highly immersive reading experience. Unfortunately, that same level of detail can make it feel like a slow, long and difficult read in parts. However, if you have read any of the principal works of Tolkien, this ought to be a picnic in comparison. It deserves its bestseller status, but it is definitely not for everyone.