The Historian

Helen and Paul arrive in Budapest. He is overwhelmed by the vastness of its history. He worries that, as an American in a communist nation, he might present political problems to Aunt Éva or Helen. Nevertheless, they head for the university. A meeting of historians is taking place, and Helen introduces Paul to Géza József, another professor—one whom Helen clearly dislikes. Paul thinks that perhaps the two had once engaged in an ill-fated affair, and he grows jealous of the handsome professor. His thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of Aunt Éva.

Paul thinks that Helen resembles her aunt, and he quickly learns how intelligent Aunt Éva is. At dinner, Aunt Éva talks about the history of Budapest, including its time under Ottoman rule. She emphasizes the streak of independence that Hungarians hold fiercely, mentioning that the Communist Party has the people’s best interests in mind. Paul diplomatically suggests that history provides guidelines for navigating the present. On the way back to the hotel, he and Helen stop to look out over the Danube River. Paul writes that he regrets losing touch with Aunt Éva after losing Helen.

The next morning, Paul asks about the history of Aunt Éva and Helen’s mother. Helen’s aunt was employed as a young girl with a Hungarian family living in Romania. When they decided to return to Hungary, they took Éva with them, and she met and married a local man. Helen’s mother sought refuge with her sister and brother-in-law once she discovered her pregnancy, and Helen was raised by all three of them. Helen’s mother left Romania behind, refusing even to teach Helen the language. Helen blames Rossi.

The two walk over to the university. Paul is nervous about his lecture. Helen warns him not to speak to József, especially about their research into Dracula. They listen to some morning lectures, then retire to the dining hall for lunch.

Paul strikes up a conversation with one of the lecturers, an Englishman named Hugh James. During their discussion, Paul asks if he knows Rossi, another Englishman. James knows of his work, and Paul mentions his current work on an article entitled “The Ghost in the Amphora.” James is astonished: The “ghost in the amphora” refers to a method of burial—wherein ashes are placed in a ceramic jar—that could produce vampires if not buried properly. James says he is fascinated with vampire legends, noting that Dracula was an actual historical figure. James also has a copy of the mysterious book. They are interrupted by the appearance of Géza József.

Paul successfully brushes József off and hurries over to tell Helen about James’s book, introducing them. He then gives his lecture on the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Europe, specifically in Transylvania. He knocks over his water glass when he mentions Vlad Dracula’s penchant for impalement of his enemies. He notices that József has left.

Helen and Paul slip away from the lecture hall to have a look at the library. They find a Romanian book, Ballads of the Carpathians, 1790. She translates one, which mentions a plague and a people mourning for their master. Immediately, Paul senses a link to Dracula. When they look closer, they see an image of a dragon in the woodcut accompanying the ballad. They decide to return to the hotel before Paul meets James. Paul’s room has been ransacked.

James urges him to go to the police. Paul tells James the story of Rossi’s disappearance; he is not surprised that his room was searched.

James tells Paul his story about finding the book. His university studies were interrupted by World War II, but he returned home, happy even amidst the post-war rationing, engaged to a girl from his hometown. Finishing up his graduate studies, he found the book among his research materials. He decides to search for its origins in the collection of a local nobleman. James finds an account of a book that was placed upon the altar at Dracula’s burial site; it was signed by his followers, many of whom drew a dragon in representation of the Order of the Dragon. The book is lost to history.

When James returns home, he learns his fiancée was in a car accident. Though she survives the crash, she is irreparably injured, unable to speak or care for herself. James is suspicious.

Paul notes that James’s research confirms that Lake Snagov was the original site of Dracula’s tomb. They compare books, and the woodcut is identical. Paul mentions the ballad he and Helen read, and James connects it to the Corvinus manuscript. This document, prepared for the king of Hungary in the 15th century, alludes to the ghost in the amphora and an outbreak of plague. James commits himself to Paul’s search.

As they part ways, the hotel clerk interrupts: the man who searched Paul’s room was an important Hungarian official, accompanied by an Englishman. He points toward the front window, yelling that the Englishman has returned. It is the dead librarian who has been following them. He cannot catch up with him and returns to the hotel, where he calls Bora. Bora has found a new document from 1477 that he will translate soon. Helen returns from dinner with her aunt. Paul again notices her resemblance to the portrait in Bora’s study.

Paul and Helen travel to see her mother, who lives far from the city, near the mountains. Her house is simple, and she is welcoming and kind. When they finally begin discussing her history with Rossi and their current search for Dracula’s tomb, Helen’s mother is unsurprised. She pulls out a bundle of letters, written in Rossi’s hand and addressed to Hedges in Oxford.

Helen’s mother narrates her own story of growing up in a small, rural village in Romania. They were poor, and she worked from a young age. When her favorite older sister, Éva, left, she felt alone. When Helen’s mother was 18, she was approached by an older woman, who presented her with a coin imprinted on one side with a dragon, saying it belonged to her family. Strangers arrived in the village. She was captivated by the pale man with bright blue eyes, Rossi, and gave him her coin. He is excited about the gift, especially when she tells him her family name, Getzi.

Rossi asked her about the dragon on the coin. The dragon is tattooed on her shoulder. Rossi revealed that her family is descended from Prince Vlad Ţepeş, who somehow made himself into a vampire. The next time they met—always in secret—Helen’s mother brought Rossi the antique silver dagger her father hid in the family chest. They fell in love, though Rossi was set to leave in less than a week. They consummated their relationship in the fields. Rossi gave her his family ring and promised to come back for her in a month. But he did not return, and Helen’s mother learned she was pregnant. Before she escaped into Hungary, she returned to the field where she and Rossi used to meet. There, she found the letters to Hedges that accidentally fell from his daypack.

After Helen was born, her mother wrote to Rossi. He apologized and said he’d never been to Romania, nor does he know anyone of her name. When Helen asks why her mother never showed her these letters, her mother replies that she did not want to give them to someone who hated Rossi. She still loves him, and she asks Paul what she can do to help them find him. She warns Paul to be vigilant; the vampire is a shapeshifter.

When Paul and Helen leave, her mother puts Rossi’s ring into Paul’s hand. On the bus back to town, they read Rossi’s letters.

Rossi’s letters recount his journey to Bucharest and Lake Snagov in search of Dracula and his tomb. He meets an archeologist, Velior Georgescu, who is enlisted in the search. Georgescu introduces Rossi to the abbot of the monastery at Snagov; Rossi discovers that the church was rebuilt 30 years after Vlad Dracula’s death. Georgescu informs Rossi that his team already uncovered Dracula’s tomb: They found skeletal remains there, but they were not Dracula’s. Dracula was beheaded, and this skeleton had his head. Rossi expresses interest in visiting Tȃrgoviste, the capital during Vlad’s reign. Georgescu says he will accompany him there.

The letters continue, recounting the history of Vlad’s castle, built with indentured labor. The villagers closest to the castle welcome Rossi and Georgescu, who they remember from his previous visit. They will take them up to the castle, though only in daylight because of rumors of the “pricolici,” or vampires, there (407). The castle is perched perilously high in the mountains. It consists mostly of ruins; only two towers and some walls are left.

Georgescu tells Rossi the story of Dracula’s first wife. He was away on the battlefield when the Turks advanced on the castle. An arrow was shot into the tower with a message tied to it: The family would be taken prisoner. Rather than suffer this fate, Dracula’s wife leapt to her death in the river below. His second wife, with whom he had many children, was from the Getzi family.

They decide to sleep there among the ruins, though Rossi is nervous. He wakes in the middle of the night to see a large wolf approaching their camp. It leaves, but Rossi cannot sleep; he hears voices from the woods. He wakes Georgescu, and they creep toward the sound: A “tall man in a cloak” leads a ceremony (415). Georgescu claims it is the Iron Guard, a fascist political party in Romania allied with the Nazis. He is relieved when they get away without being noticed.

Rossi continues writing, though his letters now focus on the village in which he and Georgescu are staying. Rossi is trying to learn Romanian after meeting a village girl who appears to be an actual descendent of Dracula. At first, he is merely interested in her history, but a short time later, he confesses that he has fallen in love and intends to marry her.

Paul says aloud that Helen, too, is one of Dracula’s descendants. Helen is conflicted.

When they return to Budapest, Aunt Éva says the secret police, including Géza József, have been asking questions about Paul. They share a last dinner together. Paul and Helen walk around the city after dinner, and Paul asks her about József. She admits that the two once had a relationship before she discovered his role in the secret police. She says that he is unkind and arrogant, uninterested in important issues—completely unlike Paul. They kiss.

At the hotel, Paul receives a message to call Bora. He translated the document; the tomb is not in Istanbul. Paul and Helen must travel to Bulgaria.