While in her father's library, a young girl discovers a
book along with a series of yellowed letters addressed
to "My dear and unfortunate successor." She questions her
father about the discovery and urges him to explain not
only the letters but the disturbing image in the book. This
is the start of her journey to discover not only more about
her father, but herself as well. She's introduced through
stories shared in scattered intervals to Professor Rossi,
her father's academic advisor and friend. As the drama
unfolds, she learns of her father's research surrounding
Dracula, Rossi's disappearance one night and the search
that brought her parents, Paul and Helen, together. Helen
not only was doing the same type of research, but possessed
the last name of Rossi. They travel from the United States
to Eastern and Western Europe in hopes of not only finding
Professor Rossi but the ultimate discovery, the tomb of
Vlad the Impaler, more commonly known as Dracula. While in
Eastern Europe, Helen seeks out her roots and has to accept
some very disturbing information about her past.
Throughout their many travels, Paul reveals to his
daughter more details about his search for Rossi. While in
Oxford, he abruptly leaves for reasons unknown and a young
scholar named Barley is asked to escort her safely to
Amsterdam. Upon her arrival home, she instinctively goes
into her father's library and discovers another packet of
letters written to her. The last line in one of the letters
states that he's gone to look for her mother. This
startling information sets her off on a mission to find her
father. By a stroke of unexpected luck, Barley joins her on
this quest that takes them to France. In her father's hotel
room, she's startled by the lack of untidiness. Among his
belongings are papers she recognizes as written by him and
a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula. There are also postcards
written by an unfamiliar hand all addressed to "my beloved
daughter" and signed "your loving mother." The cards are
from all over Europe and the stamps are mysteriously not
postmarked. This discovery answers the many questions of
her past, present and future and opens up a mystery that
will not be solved until she finds her father.
THE HISTORIAN is not only a spellbinding story, but a
journey into the deep, dark evil past of Vlad the Impaler's
reign. Although they occurred at different times and
places, Kostova has expertly choreographed the different
journeys throughout this story. The travels involved
Professor Rossi in the early 1930s, Paul and Helen in the
early 1950s and Paul's daughter and Barley in the early
1970s. The areas traveled include the United States,
Eastern and Western Europe. Many treasures of information
concerning the powerful empires of the past are uncovered
in monasteries, churches, libraries and archives. By
pouring through diaries, journals, letters and song lyrics
and studying the different routes of ancient relics,
secrets are revealed that could lead them to the exact
location of Dracula's tomb. But the question is why anyone
would want to risk everything to search for something so
evil.
THE HISTORIAN is masterfully written with elegance and
style. There are intriguing plot twists at every turn of
the page, which made this book very difficult to put down.
I've never read a novel that revealed such intricately
developed events along the way. The beauty and richness of
this story are the many secrets that are uncovered between
the pages and will keep the reader in suspense until the
final line is read. This story and its characters are a
treasure, and I feel richer in my mind and spirit by being
introduced to a work such as this.
In this riveting debut of breathtaking scope, a young girl
discovers her father's darkest secret and embarks on a
harrowing journey across Europe to complete the quest he
never could -- to find history's most legendary fiend:
Dracula. When a motherless American girl living in Europe
finds a medieval book and a package of letters, all
addressed ominously to "My dear and unfortunate
successor..." she begins to unravel a thread that leads
back to her father's past, his mentor's career, and an evil
hidden in the depths of history. In those few quiet
moments, she unwittingly assumes a quest she will discover
is her birthright: a hunt that nearly brought her father to
ruin and may have claimed the life of his adviser and dear
friend, history professor Bartholomew Rossi. What does the
legend of Vlad the Impaler, the historical Dracula, have to
do with the 20th century? Is it possible that Dracula has
lived on in the modern world? And why have a select few
historians risked reputation, sanity, and even their lives
to learn the answer? So begins an epic journey to unlock
the secrets of the strange medieval book, an adventure that
will carry our heroine across Europe and into the past --
not only to the times of Vlad's heinous reign, but to the
days when her mother was alive and her father was still a
vibrant young scholar. In the end, she uncovers the
startling fate of Rossi, and comes face to face with the
definition of evil--to find, ultimately, that good may not
always triumph.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy