Dracula ‘Historian’ visits Ashvegas

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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File this in the category “All roads lead to Ashvegas:”

Elizabeth Kostova, the woman with the hottest book of the summer, used to live in Asheville and has family that is deeply connected to Ashvegas. Her book “The Historian” is a blockbuster hit. She got a $2 million payoff and a movie deal is in the works.

The book is a reworking of the Dracula legend. It’s huge, at 600-plus pages. I haven’t read it, so I can’t comment on whether it’s worth your time or not. I’ve read mixed reviews. Some like it and its intertwining of eastern European history and bloodthirsty gore. Some think it’s boring as hell – no drama, not enough biting.

I’ll let you decide. It’s just cool that, once again, Ashvegas has a connection to something buzzworthy.

Here’s the link to the Citizen-Times story on her visit. Here’s an excerpt highlighting her family’s connections to our fair city:

Kostova’s mother’s grandfathers were George Stephens, owner of the Asheville Citizen; and Charles Waddell, the city engineer responsible for introducing streetlights to Asheville. Her maternal grandfather, George Myers Stephens, was a publisher and environmental advocate.

Kostova’s father, Dave Johnson, a professor of city and regional planning – and a Dracula movie fan – inspired Kostova’s novel. In 1972, he traveled with his family to Yugoslavia for a teaching fellowship and discovered, during leisure moments, he could entertain his daughters with tales that he connected to historic sites.

Here’s the link to the newspaper’s review of the book.