The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is a refreshing new twist on the popular tale of Vlad Tepes, aka Dracula. It’s hard to believe that The Historian is the author’s debut novel, published in 2005. Right at around 700 pages, we can clearly see that she had huge ambitions for this project. Fortunately for us readers, The Historian is a wonderful and strangely creepy story that will have the protagonist traveling to many European countries in hopes of searching for and solving the mystery of Dracula’s actual burial location. Fans with any hopes and ideas of this novel having a YA or some type of complicated romance triangle need not apply here.

It’s rare for me to get scared or really spooked when reading a novel. That’s mainly why I tend to stay away from horror fiction types of stories. A visual experience works much better. I picked The Historian as my next read due to my disappointment with having recently watched Nosferatu, the 2024 version. Although Nosferatu and Dracula obviously have differences, I just felt bummed out that although the setting and mood of the film were what I expected, the story and Nosferatu himself were a bit lacking, and the truly spooky moments of the film were extremely lacking. Imagine my surprise to find The Historian, a novel, being much more eerie and haunting than a film with millions of dollars in budget.

The Historian initially revolves around a father and daughter pair. After the father discovers that his professor also possesses a mysterious volume with a dragon in it like his and disappears after his visit, he goes on a journey to find him. The majority of the book then covers the letters his father has given to his daughter about his quest many years ago to try to find Dracula’s true burial ground. The point of view and timelines can be a bit confusing at first. There are times when I wasn’t exactly sure if I was reading the point of view of the father, daughter, or the professor, nor was it clear whether it was talking about the present or past. Luckily, things get better after a while. I’d also say that while it would seem like the novel would largely revolve around the daughter, it does not. A very large portion of the novel is told through the letters that she reads of her father’s past adventures.

There are a lot of places and locations to Google about throughout the novel. The characters travel mainly to Istanbul, Budapest, Romania, and Bulgaria. The Historian is a great twist on the Dracula tale, as mentioned earlier. When our friend does finally appear, let’s just say that his purpose was not what I had thought it to be, but it definitely fits within the whole theme of the book. The author’s description of Dracula is forbidding, mysterious, and elegant at the same time, which again fits with how I’d assume most people would picture this mythical character. The one slight issue I have is the semi-rushed ending and how everything came together. Nonetheless, the flashback of Dracula at the very end through Helen was neatly done.