Dracula

Prince Vlad III, who ruled Wallachia in the 15th century, entered history with the nicknames Dracula - not only "Son of the Dragon" but also "Son of the Devil" - and Tepes, "Impaler." In modern mass culture, his name is... firmly associated with the image of the bloodsucking vampire, while in Romania he is celebrated as a national hero and a fighter for the country's independence. Many legends about Dracula have survived, yet there is little documentary evidence that allows us to reconstruct the biography of this extraordinary ruler, who lived at the turning point of eras, at the crossroads of the conflict between the most powerful states of his time - the Ottoman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, and Poland.
Historian Vadim Erlichman, in his book, explores not only the life of the real Vlad Dracula but also the development of the "black legend" about him from the chapbooks of the Renaissance era to the latest Hollywood films. Inevitably, legends about vampires are also touched upon, although Dracula turned out to be connected with them only in the 19th century. Whether by coincidence or not is a complex question that is also examined by the author of the book.