Elizabeth Kostova Books

From the #1 bestselling author of The Historian comes an engrossing novel that spans the past and the present and unearths the dark secrets of Bulgaria, a beautiful and haunted country. A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes. As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she will first have to uncover the secrets of a talented musician who was shattered by oppression and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger. Kostova's new novel is a tale of immense scope that delves into the horrors of a century and traverses the culture and landscape of this mysterious country. Suspenseful and beautifully written, it explores the power of stories, the pull of the past, and the hope and meaning that can sometimes be found in the aftermath of loss.

In 1972, a 16-year-old American living in Amsterdam finds a mysterious book in her diplomat father's library. The book is ancient, blank except for a sinister woodcut of a dragon and the word "Drakulya," but it's the letters tucked inside, dated 1930 and addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," that really pique her curiosity. Her widowed father, Paul, reluctantly provides pieces of a chilling story; it seems this ominous little book has a way of forcing itself on its owners, with terrifying results. Paul's former adviser at Oxford, Professor Rossi, became obsessed with researching Dracula and was convinced that he remained alive. When Rossi disappeared, Paul continued his quest with the help of another scholar, Helen, who had her own reasons for seeking the truth. As Paul relates these stories to his daughter, she secretly begins her own research. Kostova builds suspense by revealing the threads of her story as the narrator discovers them: what she's told, what she reads in old letters and, of course, what she discovers directly when the legendary threat of Dracula looms. Along with all the fascinating historical information, there's also a mounting casualty count, and the big showdown amps up the drama by pulling at the heartstrings at the same time it revels in the gruesome. Exotic locales, tantalizing history, a family legacy and a love of the bloodthirsty: it's hard to imagine that readers won't be bitten, too.

Andrew Marlow, a dedicated psychiatrist, has his orderly life disrupted when he becomes the therapist for the troubled painter Robert Oliver, who refuses to communicate. Marlow's quest to uncover Oliver's secret leads him through the lives of women connected to Oliver and into the depths of French Impressionism, exploring themes of obsession and the enduring power of art.

* The highly anticipated new novel by the author of the international bestseller THE HISTORIAN.

Qui était vraiment le comte Vlad de Valachie, dit aussi Drakula, le Vampire des Carpates, mort depuis cinq siècles ? C'est la question que se pose, intriguée, une jeune fille en découvrant clans le bureau de son père un vieux livre dont toutes les pages sont blanches, sauf la page centrale, sur laquelle un dragon aux ailes déployées protège entre ses griffes cet unique mot : Drakula. Commence alors, pour son père comme pour elle-même, une enquête périlleuse autour de cette noire figure du passé. Peu à peu, l'ombre maudite se fait plus présente et oppressante autour d'eux. Peu à peu, la quête se transforme en traque, et la vérité se dégage de la légende, plus terrifiante encore.

Psychiater Andrew Marlow heeft twee passies: zijn werk en schilderen. Wanneer hij de beroemde kunstschilder Robert Oliver in behandeling neemt nadat deze heeft geprobeerd een doek in de National Gallery met een mes te bewerken, wordt Marlows geregelde leventje verstoord. Zijn drang te achterhalen met welk geheim de zwijgzame schilder worstelt, leidt hem naar de twee vrouwen die Oliver het beste gekend hebben - en naar een stapel oude brieven die een drama openbaren dat zich in de bloeiperiode van het Franse impressionisme heeft afgespeeld.

Notte. Brividi. Una ragazzina scopre nella biblioteca paterna un fascio di lettere misteriose e un libro in cui domina una raffigurazione di un drago, sopra la misteriosa scritta "Drakulya". È l'atto di inizio di una ricerca che si era già svolta in passato e torna a risvegliare uno spettro che da sempre si aggira per l'Europa e che si nasconde dietro la storia che tutti noi conosciamo. Una caccia spietata alla ricerca di un ente soprannaturale che da secoli ossessiona gli uomini, la leggenda di Dracula, il re dei vampiri. Piani temporali e storici si intrecciano, mentre padre e figlia, i protagonisti di questa affannosa ricerca di un Graal in forma umana (sovrumana, anzi...), percorrono i pertugi di una vicenda nascosta agli occhi dei profani, in cui si addensano ombre e demoni, vicende familiari e inattese svolte, fino a una serie di rivelazioni che sconvolgono la percezione della realtà.