''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. The title has

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

origin. A primrose path is first referred to in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' and in modern usage signifies a pleasant path that leads to ruin.

Plot summary

Jerry O'Sullivan, honest

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

theatrical carpenter, moves to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 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.

References

Bibliography

*Valente, Joseph. ''Dracula's Crypt: Bram stoker, Irishness, and the Question of Blood.''

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic proje ...

: 2002.

External links

* 1875 British novels Novels by Bram Stoker Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in Irish magazines Novels set in London Fiction about uxoricide Fiction about suicide {{1870s-novel-stub