The Historian

By: Elizabeth Kostova

Narrated by: Justine Eyre, Paul Michael

Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2005 Elizabeth Kostova. All Rights Reserved. (P)2005 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

• 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year, Adult Fiction

"A bloodthirsty delight....Both literary and scary, this one is guaranteed to keep one reading into the wee hours." (Booklist)
"Along with all the fascinating historical information, there's also a mounting casualty count, and the big showdown amps up the drama by pulling at the heartstrings at the same time it revels in the gruesome. Exotic locales, tantalizing history, a family legacy and a love of the bloodthirsty: it's hard to imagine that readers won't be bitten, too." (Publishers Weekly)
"The Historian is artfully constructed and atmospheric." (Washington Post Book World)

surprisingly good

feels like a distant sequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula. maybe a bit heavy on history, but it works

Slow but steady.

Would you listen to The Historian again? Why?

I don't think so. The Historian has a fun concept, but was a little slow for my taste.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters come to life fairly well.

Any additional comments?

The author does a decent job of building up anticipation; however I found myself putting this book down more than others in the genre. If you're looking for a casual listen, enjoy old books, and vampires... you should pick up a copy of The Historian.

Interesting story but could have been so much better

This book was mostly supposedly written as letters from a father to his daughter. That device was ridiculous. It didn't read as letters at all. However, the story was interesting except that it gave way too much arcane historical details. And like a lot of really long books, it was if the author ran out of steam at the end and just wrapped it up.

Great first book.

I very much enjoyed Kostova's first effort. As an expert on folkloric vampires (and without giving away too much information) the notion of silver daggers and bullets as weapons against the mythical monster --well, it seems to me she has been overly influenced by Hollywood, but the story itself is a wonderful trip through Eastern European time and space. It's also so refreshing to see scholars--archivists and historians--as the main protagonists.

As regards the reading--a wonderful job, although one did tire of the male readers' imitations of female voices. Wish there was a way around that! It sure made my trip across country doable, though. Lovely escape!

Slow to start, but a great audio book

There is so much detail at every level in this book that at first, I didn't know if I would like it, but I stuck with it and am very glad I did. The author has a great talent for setting a scene and I was playing a movie in my head of what she was describing all the way. She could do with less description in some cases, but overall an excellent book.

For history major's our historians only

Where does The Historian rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book has little to do with Dracula and everything to do with monotonous details of historic places and traveling. It's about twenty chapters .too long. I liked the characters but the ridiculous details of clothing and buildings and travel ruins it for you. This should not be in the fiction section, it belongs as required coursework for those who are going for a history degree.

Would you ever listen to anything by Elizabeth Kostova again?

Probably not, unless it was abridged

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

The daughter

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

None! Very droning

long read, but beautifully written

Really loved how beautiful this book was. I was a little disappointed in the ending, but not sure it could have been any different. I would 100% recommend to fellow lovers of history, folklore and art.

Had to put it down

I felt that the story was plodding along and after a dozen chapters, had to put it down. I wasn't compelled by then. I think that the story was often distracted by the author's attempt at a Victorian-style narrative and character set up, but just didn't get there.

Love it

Read this years ago and wanted to listen to it now. Very well done. Glad that I purchased on here!

Perfect book for an audiobook.

If you could sum up The Historian in three words, what would they be?

Riveting historical fiction.

What other book might you compare The Historian to and why?

None comes to mind.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked when it would transition between the female and male speaking parts, with the male voice beginning to speak and the female voice saying

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I did want to push on through but I also loved that it was long enough that I could listen to on my commute for most of the month.

Any additional comments?

Many books play okay as an audiobook but this one was as if it was written specifically to be an audiobook. I can't really describe how, just I attempted to read this book a couple years ago but got only in a few chapters before I lost interest. As an audiobook it came to life and I know I will be listening to this one over and over for years to come.