The Primrose Path (Stoker novel)
 The Shamrock, February 6, 1875 | |
| Author | Bram Stoker |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel; temperance novel |
| Publisher | The Shamrock |
Publication date | 1875 |
| Publication place | Ireland |
| Media type | Print periodical & hardback & paperback |
| Pages | 130 |
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][2]
The title has a Shakespearean origin. A primrose path is first referred to in Hamlet and in modern usage signifies a pleasant path that leads to ruin. In Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3, Ophelia castigates her brother, Laertes, not to be a hypocritical "ungracious pastor" who tells her to take the hard, virtuous path to heaven while he "Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads".
It is a "temperance tale" about Jerry O’Sullivan, a carpenter from Dublin who settles in London. Unable to find a good job, he becomes an alcoholic, falls into poverty, and is ravaged by jealousy. He ends up killing his wife and committing suicide.
In 1999, it was republished by Desert Island Books, an independent publisher based in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, founded in 1992 by Clive Leatherdale.
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 Katey of infidelity, he murders her with a hammer and then cuts his throat with a chisel.
References
- ^ "Bram Stoker – Novels". www.bramstoker.org.
- ^ Published in The Shamrock, February 6, 1875.
Bibliography
- Cadeddu, Manuel. "(Not So) Safe Houses in Bram Stoker’s The Primrose Path." Review of Irish Studies in Europe 3.1 (2019): 159-70.
- Maunder, Andrew (December 2006). Bram Stoker. Writers and Their Work. UK: Liverpool University Press, Northcote House Publishers.
- Stoker, Bram. The Primrose Path by Bram Stoker. Delphi Classics (Illustrated). Volume 1. 2017.
- Valente, Joseph. Dracula's Crypt: Bram Stoker, Irishness, and the Question of Blood. University of Illinois Press: 2002. ISBN 978-0-252-02696-6
- The Primrose Path, 1875. Novels. bramstoker.org. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
External links
The Primrose Path public domain audiobook at LibriVox- 1875 appearance in The Shamrock.