The Historian

by Elizabeth Kostova

English language

Published Dec. 24, 2005

ISBN:: 978-0-316-07063-8

(32 reviews)

To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history....Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of-a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known-and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself-to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive. What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed-and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends?

The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign-and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions-and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad's ancient powers—one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil.

Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions, a relentless tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present, with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful—and utterly unforgettable.

27 editions

Scordatura reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

None

3 stars

A book that's mostly about archival research, about historians digging through sources and coming up with clues on where to go next on a hunt for Dracula? In lesser hands, this would have been a very dull book - but Kostova manages to make this work even though the book has some serious issues.

I found myself, at times, flabbergasted and somewhat annoyed by several very fortuitous plot events (the dreaded "amnesia" plot element was the most confounding one) but the worst of them are explained by a decent plot development later on.
But her descriptions of all the locations the characters visit on their hunt more than make up for the frustration, as does the deep dive into history (made up or actual) in order to tell a good story.

Not a great book perhaps, but still very much worth the effort if you like horror, mystery and in …

Bonden reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

An OK read, but not a great one

2 stars

Content warning Spoilers ahoy!

Kostova has clearly tried to breathe new(undead) life into the classic Vampire novel, concentrating on historians unearthing their existence. It's an interesting idea.

But it never really hits the spot. There's long (some might say overlong) sections when we spend a ridiculous amount of time gallivanting all around the Near East and Eastern Europe in search of a folk song or snatch of letter, which miraculously turn up in the collections of a succession of stereotypical Wise Old Men simply in order to move the story along. So many coincidences get increasingly hard to accept.

And when Vlad makes only his second major appearance, he's dispatched with ridiculous ease which only leads you to wonder why it took 600+ years to kill him.

It has it's moments. Kostava is at her best when describing the people of the Eastern European regions she's clearly familiar with but it wasn't enough to save the novel for me.

adrian reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Top-notch historical fiction, but may be too lengthy for some

5 stars

As a history enthusiast, I absolutely loved this novel! The semi-epistolary format, spanning three generations, may not be for everyone. Plus it's really long - my paperback copy clocks in at over 900 pages!

For me, I felt this novel is just perfect fit for my preference. Highly recommended for history buffs.

Gossamerchild reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Review of 'The Historian' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Whenever I read an epistolary novel, at some point I think, "Gee, they have an awfully significant amount of time to just sit down and write a bunch of letters. And will the recipient actually have time to read those 600 pages of handwritten letters? With Dracula chasing them?" As usual I loved this book, but sometimes I get distracted by this particular format.

rahulgopinath reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Review of 'The Historian' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Fair read, although at places it was more a travelogue than fiction. The ending is bit awkward.

Benjamin Asher reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Review of 'The Historian' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I really thought this was going to be another cheap Dracula knockoff. Instead it was so rich and absorbing that you sometimes forgot you were talking about a character that has been written about and satirized from every angle. Excellent book. Would read again