The Primrose Path (Stoker novel)

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The Primrose Path
Author Bram Stoker
LanguageEnglish
Genre Novel; temperance novel
Publisher The Shamrock
Publication date
1875
Publication placeIreland
Media typePrint periodical & hardback & paperback

The Primrose Path is an 1875 novel by Bram Stoker. It was the writer's first novel, published 22 years before Dracula and serialized in five installments in The Shamrock, a weekly Irish magazine, from February 6, 1875, to March 6, 1875. [1]

Contents

The title has Shakespearean origin. A primrose path is first referred to in Hamlet and in modern usage signifies a pleasant path that leads to ruin.

Plot summary

Jerry O'Sullivan, honest Dublin theatrical carpenter, moves to London, seeking a better job. Against the better judgement of the people surrounding him, Jerry decides to go to the metropolis with his faithful wife Katey. O'Sullivan is hired as head carpenter in a squalid theatre in London, but after several misfortunes he is strongly tempted by and eventually brought down by alcohol. Unjustly suspecting his wife of infidelity, he murders her with a hammer and then cuts his throat with a chisel.

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References

  1. "Bram Stoker – Novels". www.bramstoker.org.

Bibliography