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Elizabeth Kostova brings Dracula to life again in a fast-paced thriller with the quality of classic literature.
Some readers love the suspense of a good thriller, and others prefer to enjoy an author's linguistic talents in a literary masterpiece. However, it's rare to find both of these qualities in the same book. Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian is one of those rare masterpieces that appeals to those who reach for the thrillers on the bestseller list as well as those with more literary tastes. Dracula with a New TwistThe Historian is a framed tale with much of the storytelling done through letters. Three generations of scholars search for the tomb of the tyrant Vlad the Impaler, the historical inspiration for Dracula, and three different storylines are narrated in alternating chapters. An unnamed sixteen-year-old girl narrates the main text and tells how a mysterious old book she discovers in her father's library first draws her into this search. While traveling with her father in Europe, she confronts him about the book, and during their travels, he tells her the tale of how he (Paul) discovered the book which he believed is connected to the disappearance of his beloved history professor Dr. Bartholomew Rossi, a history scholar who discovered a similar copy of a similar book many years before. He traveled and researched extensively in an attempt to discover its secrets. Rossi discovered that Vlad (Dracula) was alive and haunting those most determined to find his secrets. Paul and Rossi's daughter Helen set out to find Dracula's tomb, hoping to find the kidnapped Rossi there. The quest leads them to Istanbul and across Eastern Europe. The search picks up again nearly twenty years later when Paul leaves his daughter behind, hoping to find and ultimately destroy the demon, and the narrator leaves home to follow him. The reader follows Rossi, Paul, and the narrator through Europe in a beautifully written and intricately plotted novel.
Setting of The Historian The narrative has a strong sense of place and time. The characters travel extensively through Europe, and Kostova effortlessly evokes the locales in their journeys without making the reader wade through pages of cumbersome description. Final CommentsWhile decidedly literary in style, The Historian is surprisingly well-paced, and will keep the reader turning pages for hours. The work is clearly well-researched and gives the reader a sense of how real historians work, traveling and sifting for hours through ancient archives. Anyone who enjoys great literature, an exciting suspense story, or a fictional trip through history will love The Historian. Related ArticlesVlad the Impaler Becomes Dracula
The copyright of the article Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian in Modern American Fiction is owned by Karen Reiser. Permission to republish Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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