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Remembering Radu Florescu: Historian who linked Count Dracula to Vlad the Impaler

He's a historian who connected a classic fictional character to a real-life tyrant. Radu Florescu's 1972 book In Search of Dracula, that he co-wrote with Raymond T. McNally, was the first to link Bram Stoker's inspiration for Count Dracula to the brutal 15th-century Romanian prince, Vlad Tepas, also known as "Vlad the Impaler." Radu Florescu died on Sunday of pneumonia...
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As It Happens6:30Radu Florescu Obit

He's a historian who connected a classic fictional character to a real-life tyrant. Radu Florescu's 1972 book In Search of Dracula, that he co-wrote with Raymond T. McNally, was the first to link Bram Stoker's inspiration for Count Dracula to the brutal 15th-century Romanian prince, Vlad Tepas, also known as "Vlad the Impaler." Radu Florescu died on Sunday of pneumonia at the age of 88.

"I think it bothered him that Romania was just being presented as Transylvania, vampires and so on." Elizabeth Miller, a professor emeritus at Memorial University and a friend and colleague of Radu Florescu, tells Carol. 

"When he discovered this connection with the real Dracula... it kind of validated something for him about his country. [He] could tell people now it was much more than a land where Bram Stoker happened to stick Count Dracula." 

Hear Carol's full interview with Ms. Miller and hear why Mr. Florescu's students sometimes affectionately referred to him as a vampire by selecting the "Listen" button.

Also, here's a brief photo history of Dracula as depicted in popular culture:

A portrait of the "real-life Dracula," Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia. He was a member of the Royal House of Drăculești and was posthumously dubbed "Vlad the Impaler" because of his penchant for impaling his enemies.

1922's Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens is one of the first film adaptations of Dracula, starring Max Schreck. Stoker's estate successfully sued the producers of Nosferatu for copyright infringement, and copies of the film were ordered destroyed, though pirated copies survived and were made widely available once the work entered the public domain. (Photo: Screen Capture)
Two of the best known film representations of Count Dracula include portrayals by Bela Lugosi (left, 1931) and Christopher Lee (1958). (Photos: Screen Capture)
More modern adaptations of Dracula include Gary Oldman from the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula and the 2013-2014 TV series Dracula starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. (Photos: Screen Capture)

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