House of Novak
House of Alba
House of Hunyadi
House of Brankovich
House of Cilli
House of Luxemburg
House of Osman
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to numerous persons who’ve encouraged and assisted me along the path leading to the creation of this book.
If my work attains its goal of entertaining readers, much of the credit goes to those listed here. On the other hand, the responsibility for any shortcomings is entirely mine.
In alphabetical order:
Adnan Akgün, Stefan Andreescu, Julian Balog, Pamela Berns, Bob Bliss, Suzette Donisan, Tom F. Dodd, Neagu Djuvara, Bogdan Eremia, Cristi Eremia, Diane Foia, Justin Foia, Timothy Foia, Vlad Foia, Veronica Hice, Chris Higashi, Casey Carlson Iffert, Randy Ingermanson, Dan Ionescu, Helen Ionescu, Radu Adrian Iovescu, Helen Jarvis, Mustafa Kaçar, Adam Karpowicz, Love Klopf, Anton Klopf, Spana Lall, James Larosa, Robert Lucas, Toni Merritt, Ken Merritt, Murat Özveri, Scott Polk, Robert Andrew Powell, Mim Eichler Rivas, Veeru Sachan, Sue Spitz, Florence Rose Thompson, Jim Thompson, Ioan Marian Tiplic, Kazuo Tsuzuki, Kelly Vajda, Laura Vernum, Jim Watson, Lauree Weaver, Judith Wills, Kenneth Wills, and Paula Worley
There are also a number of people who extended their courtesy to me during my research and writing, while remaining anonymous. They are the staff of the various institutions and organizations where materials relevant for my research were located:
Eulalie and Carlo Scandiuzzi Foundation
Staff at the Seattle Public Library
Nicolae Iorga Institute of History of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
Library of the University of Bucharest, Romania
National History Museum, Bucharest, Romania
Ethnographic Museum of Klausenburg, Transylvania
The denizens of Schassburg, Klausenburg, Hermannstadt, and Kronstadt in Transylvania
National History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
King Matthias Museum, Vishegrad, Hungary
Panorama 1453 History Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
Military Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
Naval Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
Beyazid II Külliye Health Museum, Edirne, Turkey
Muradiye Complex, Bursa, Turkey
Monks at Stavronikita, Philotheou, and Simon Petras monasteries on Holy Mount Athos
Monks at St. Catherine Monastery at Mount Sinai, Egypt
Library of the 15th Arrondissement, Paris, France
Special thanks to my editors, Arlene W. Robinson and Terry Lee Robinson. Their professionalism, competence, passion for literature, and empathy for the author make them an unbeatable team.
About the Author
Victor T. Foia was born in Transylvania where he studied theoretical physics at the local university. At the age of 22 Victor escaped from behind the Iron Curtain and defected to Italy. After a waiting period of months spent in UN refuge camps, he emigrated to the United States. There Victor graduated from the Universities of Illinois and Dallas. He then embarked upon a career as an international corporate executive. Presently he is engaged full time in writing historical fiction.
Victor’s interest in Dracula dates from the age of six, when he first visited his compatriot’s birthplace only a hundred miles from his own. Soon this interest became a lasting passion for research into Dracula’s life. Exploring castles, fortresses, and monasteries throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Victor went beyond the iconic Dracula literature to ferret out the essence of the man behind the Legend. The four-decade long quest has taken Victor to virtually all the places where Dracula lived, loved, fought, and was imprisoned. In the end, by the empty tomb from where the prince disappeared without a trace 535 years ago, Victor felt his journey of discovery was complete and now the story of the real Dracula could be told.
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Son of the Dragon Page 36