30 Victorian Heartthrobs Who Made Ladies Sigh

Before Dracula made him the patron saint of candlelit Gothic anxiety, Bram Stoker was a large, athletic, charismatic theater man. He managed London’s Lyceum Theatre for Henry Irving, moved in dramatic circles, and had the kind of physical presence that made him seem less like a deskbound novelist and more like someone who could personally drag a coffin across a stage. The vampire fame came later. The theatrical magnetism was already rehearsing.