The Waters of Hercules is a long forgotten novel with close ties to
Bram Stoker's Dracula. The heroine of the story, Gretchen, is an
intelligent young German woman, who distinguished herself in school
by winning the prix de logique. A very practical-minded girl,
Gretchen, influenced by her Italian friend, Belita, considers
marriage an economic proposition and is determined to marry a man
of wealth. When the decent, respectable family lawyer Vincenz
Komers, a man of modest means, seeks her hand in marriage, she
rejects him, not once, but twice. When Gretchen's father is
seriously injured in an accident, the family sets off to
Transylvania, to the Baths of Hercules (Baile Herculane in modern
Romania, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), in hopes that
the waters of Hercules, known for their curative powers, will
rehabilitate her ailing father. Her father, Adalbert, tells his
daughter of a mysterious place in the surrounding forest, known as
Gaura Dracului (the Devil's Pit) that he had discovered during a
visit to the valley years earlier, but the location of which is now
a mystery. Hercules, considered the god of the Valley, is said to
have sworn that the pit would receive a sacrifice of human blood
once every century. The legends of a mysterious treasure associated
with Gaura Dracului inspires Gretchen to consider another way to
make her fortune, so that she can marry any man of her choosing.
Her efforts are redoubled when the long-expected inheritance of a
family estate proves illusory. As Gretchen relentlessly pursues the
secrets of Gaura Dracului and the hidden treasure it is said to
hold, she is courted by the handsome, wealthy, and debonair Baron
Istvan Tolnay, called the King of the Valley, who could provide the
financial security that both she and her family seek. Aided by the
Baron, Vincenz, her brother Kurt, and others, she sets out to find
the mysterious bottomless pit in the nearby Transylvanian mountain
forest. Will Gretchen discover the elusive Gaura Dracului? Will its
secrets finally be revealed? Will Gretchen find the lost treasure?
Or will she achieve financial security for herself and her family
by marrying the wealthy Baron? Written by sisters Emily and
Dorothea Girard, The Water of Hercules is a Victorian novel, filled
with Gothic suspense. It should be of great interest to all fans of
Bram Stoker's Dracula, as well as anyone interested in classic
works of nineteenth century literature. With an introduction by
noted historian A.K. Brackob, a specialist in the history of
Eastern Europe, The Waters of Hercules is sure to entertain and
delight.
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