Bram Stoker of whom was Sir Thornley Stoker, 1st Bt.. Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf and attended the parish church with their children, who were baptised there, and Abraham was a senior civil servant. Stoker was bedridden with an unknown illness until he started school at the age of seven, when he made a complete recovery. Of this time, Stoker wrote, "I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years." He was educated in a private school run
The Mystery of the Sea that Stoker is a skilled writer of mystery. A reviewer writing for "The Bookman" calls the novel "one of those weirdly sensational stories that no living author writes better than Mr. Bram Stoker". "The Dial" categorizes it as "a bit of glowing melodrama" that will "keep one awake o' nights", and admits that it would be hard to get more action…between the covers of a book than will be found here" (an observation which other reviewers do not construe as positive). "Punch" praises Stoker's "breezy personality" and his ability to create a story with "the rare quality of adventure that