Vlad Dracul: The Historical Dracula

Long before Bram Stoker, Vlad III of Wallachia ruled a violent borderland caught between the Ottoman Empire and Christian Europe. Power was fragile, betrayal constant, and survival demanded uncompromising authority.

Known in his lifetime as Dracula, from Drăculea—“son of Dracul”—his name came from his father, Vlad II Dracul, a member of the Order of the Dragon. Dracul originally meant Dragon, later acquiring darker associations that would echo far beyond Wallachia.

Vlad is remembered for impalement. The punishment was not unique to him, but contemporary sources describe its use on a scale intended to intimidate enemies and enforce control in a fractured land. Fear was a tool.

This concise volume begins with the legend, then returns to the historical record. Drawing on chronicles, diplomatic reports, Ottoman accounts, and early German pamphlets, it shows how propaganda and print culture reshaped Vlad’s reputation. Centuries later, his name was absorbed into Gothic fiction. The vampire was invented; the prince was real.

COMING SOON...Part of the Behind the Legend – Concise Edition series.