Transylvania and literature as a land of mystery and magic. For example, in Paulo Coelho's novel "The Witch of Portobello", the main character, Sherine Khalil, is described as a Transylvanian orphan with a Romani mother, in an effort to add to the character's exotic mystique. The so-called Transylvanian trilogy of historical novels by Miklos Banffy, "The Writing on the Wall", is an extended treatment of the 19th- and early 20th-century social and political history of the country. Among the first actors to portray Dracula in film was Bela Lugosi, who was born in Banat, in present-day Romania. Transylvania Transylvania is a
Transylvania University National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky]] Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780, making it the first university in Kentucky. It offers 36 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Transylvania's name, meaning "beyond the woods" in Latin, stems from the university's founding in the heavily forested region of western Virginia known as the Transylvania Colony, which became most of Kentucky in 1792. Transylvania is the alma mater of two U.S. vice presidents, two U.S. Supreme