Harker and the Count: Dramatis Personae
A list of characters appearing in my serialized novel Harker and the Count.
[Read the first chapter.]
“Hai te na mule zhi ages, inka trayin.” (And if they are not dead, they yet live. Traditional ending to Kalderash Romani folktales)
Principal Characters
Jonathan Harker. Born 1868 in East London to Róza Constantin (Kalderash Roma) and Thomas Harker (Anglo-Indian). Orphaned at age seven, Jonathan ends up at one of Barnardo’s Homes, where he shows academic brilliance and affinity for languages. While at Barnardo’s, he becomes the protector of younger orphan Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray, a mixed-race girl who has lived her entire life there. At age fourteen, he becomes the ward of childless widower Peter Hawkins, who begins to train the lad in the law. At the opening of the book, Jonathan has just earned his solicitor’s license, and he and Mina have agreed to enter a marriage of convenience to obscure their queer identities.
Count Dracula. The Undead heir to the House of Drăculești. A solomonar or vampiric wizard trained in the dark arts at the Scholomance (Romanian Șolomanță)—a sunless school deep in the caverns of the Carpathian Mountains—the Count possesses the keenest mind in the world. The last holder of the Golden Reins, he has spent four hundred years amassing knowledge and power … and is now ready to put a bleak plan in motion.
Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray. Born 1872. Mother died giving birth. Father unknown. Raised at Barnardo’s. Upon the recommendation of Peter Hawkins, she ends up working as a nurse at the Westenra estate at age twelve, taking care of Lucy’s younger siblings and becoming close friends with Lucy (who is two years younger). Though asexual, Mina is biromantic.
Abraham Van Helsing. Born 1833. Dutch polymath with considerable experience, education and expertise. Holding multiple terminal degrees—MD, D.Ph., D.Litt.—Van Helsing is a highly respected and consulted doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist and metaphysician. He lost both his beloved wife and young son to a vampire many years ago. Jack Seward is a former student and friend.
The Weird Sisters
Macrina Cantemir. Born 1613. Sister of Constantin Cantemir, Hospodar of Moldavia. Count Dracula made Macrina a vampire in 1677, and she feels a mixture of love and hatred toward him that drives her to interfere with his plans.
Bakol Bonastruc. Born 1234. Daughter of Catalan rabbi and Talmudic scholar Moshe ben Nahman (from Girona, Spain). Made a vampire by Count Arnald Estruc in 1255. She lived in the Castle of Llers until 1525, when she traveled to New Spain and met Meyalli Eyatzin.
Meyalli Eyatzin. Born 1505 in Tlaxcallan. A tlahuihpochtli or Nahua vampire by birth, Meyalli received “the gift” from Bakol Bonastruc in 1525. In 1642, the couple left New Spain and made their way to Transylvania, having learned of Dracula’s demesne.
Other Characters
Richard M. Renfield. Born 1834. A solicitor in the employ of Peter Hawkins. Widower (wife Susan died in 1890). Returns from a trip to Count Dracula’s castle with serious physical and mental illness.
Christopher Renfield. Born 1865. A pharmaceutical chemist. Richard’s unmarried son. Lives in a flat above his shop in Exeter.
Peter Hawkins. Born 1823. Lawyer in Exeter. Having previously mentored Brian Seward and Thomas Harker, Peter took Jonathan as his ward before Barnardo’s shipped the teen to Canada to work on a farm. Suffers from sever gout.
John “Jack” Seward. Born 1860. Runs a mental hospital in Purfleet, near Carfax. His Anglo-Indian father Brian was a friend of Peter Hawkins and Thomas Harker.
Lucy Westenra. Born 1874. A young socialite from a noble Anglo-Irish family. Parents are Robert Westenra (cousin of Baron Rossmore), who died in 1890, and Julia Westenra (née Bailey).
Arthur “Art” Holmwood. Born 1866. Becomes Lord Godalming upon his father’s death. Engaged to Lucy Westenra.
Quintín “Quincey” Morris Falcón. Born 1867. Heir to a vast ranch in South Texas. Mother María Elena Falcón de Morris (of Mexican descent, heir to a massive Spanish land grant). Was wooing Lucy Westenra before her engagement to Art Holmwood.
Strélitsa. A dragon who has lived for centuries in the depths of Lake Călțun, awaiting the day her rider will arrive to fly upon her back as they conquer the world. Has both a humanoid and massive winged lizard form.
