--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Having had some time at my disposal when…" description: "\"“Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regardin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/bram-stoker-718_british-museum_having-had-some-time-at-my-disposal-when_3143009.jpg" --- # Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had… ![“Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that…” quote by Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/bram-stoker-718_british-museum_having-had-some-time-at-my-disposal-when_3143009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/bram-stoker-718_british-museum_having-had-some-time-at-my-disposal-when_3143009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/bram-stoker-718_british-museum_having-had-some-time-at-my-disposal-when_3143009.jpg) > ““Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country. I find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina, in the midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe. I was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula, as there are no maps of this country as yet to compare with our own Ordnance Survey maps; but I found that Bistritz, the post town named by Count Dracula, is a fairly well-known place. I shall enter here some of my notes, as they may refresh my memory when I talk over my travels with Mina.”” [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator notes the difficulty of locating Castle Dracula on maps, highlighting the mystery of Transylvania’s remote region. **In simple terms:** Finding the exact location of Dracula’s castle is hard due to lack of detailed maps. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and use known landmarks for context. Themes mystery exploration geography Mood curious analytical Type literary historical When to use this quote - Travel planning - historical writing - tourism - geopolitical study Key Concepts Cartography historical research literary setting Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty shape storytelling? - What role do landmarks play in building myth? A Different Perspective Maps may be incomplete, leading to speculation rather than precise knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [British museum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-museum/) [Count dracula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/count-dracula/) [Dracula Maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dracula-maps-5358667/) [Regarding Transylvania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regarding-transylvania-5608719/) [States Transylvania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states-transylvania-1623264/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Transylvania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transylvania/) [Transylvania Moldavia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transylvania-moldavia-1623263/) ## Related quotes > [“find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/find-that-the-district-he-named-is-in-the-extreme-east-of-the-country/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“I find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/i-find-that-the-district-he-named-is-in-the-extreme-east-of-the/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“I was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula, as there are no maps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/i-was-not-able-to-light-on-any-map-or-work-giving-the-exact-locality/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“I am glad that it is old and big. I myself am of an old family, and to live in a new house would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/i-am-glad-that-it-is-old-and-big-i-myself-am-of-an-old-family-and-to/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [I am Dracula, and I bid you welcome . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/i-am-dracula-and-i-bid-you-welcome/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“When I asked him if he knew Count Dracula, and could tell me anything of his castle, both he and his wife crossed themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/when-i-asked-him-if-he-knew-count-dracula-and-could-tell-me-anything/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“The last I saw of Count Dracula was his kissing his hand to me, with a red light of triumph in his eyes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/the-last-i-saw-of-count-dracula-was-his-kissing-his-hand-to-me-with-a/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“4 May.—I found that my landlord had got a letter from the Count, directing him to secure the best place on the coach for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/4-may-i-found-that-my-landlord-had-got-a-letter-from-the-count/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [We are in Transylvania, and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/we-are-in-transylvania-and-transylvania-is-not-england-our-ways-are/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“In the summer of this year we made a journey to Transylvania, and went over the old ground which was, and is, to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/in-the-summer-of-this-year-we-made-a-journey-to-transylvania-and-went/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Too often, in novels that are speculative, God is a kind of kryptonite, and that's about all that it is, and it goes back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/too-often-in-novels-that-are-speculative-god-is-a-kind-of-kryptonite/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Count Dracula had directed me to go to the Golden Krone Hotel, which I found, to my great delight, to be thoroughly old-fashioned, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/count-dracula-had-directed-me-to-go-to-the-golden-krone-hotel-which-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [King Kong, Count Dracula, and the Phantom of the Opera are just looking for love, like the rest of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/king-kong-count-dracula-and-the-phantom-of-the-opera-are-just-looking/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“. . . Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/practice-any-art-music-singing-dancing-acting-drawing-painting/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [A friend once told me that the real message Bram Stoker sought to convey in 'Dracula' is that a human being needs to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-queenan/a-friend-once-told-me-that-the-real-message-bram-stoker-sought-to/) [Joe Queenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-queenan/) ## More by Bram Stoker > [“I promise." and as I said it I felt that from that instant a door had been shut between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/i-promise-and-as-i-said-it-i-felt-that-from-that-instant-a-door-had/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Remember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/remember-my-friend-that-knowledge-is-stronger-than-memory-and-we/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“He became almost speechless for a minute, and then went on, "Do you know what the place is? Have you seen that awful den…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/he-became-almost-speechless-for-a-minute-and-then-went-on-do-you-know/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“..the world seems full of good men--even if there are monsters in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/the-world-seems-full-of-good-men-even-if-there-are-monsters-in-it/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [It is something like the way dame Nature gathers round a foreign body an envelope of some insensitive tissue which can protect from evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/it-is-something-like-the-way-dame-nature-gathers-round-a-foreign-body/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Euthanasia" is an excellent and comforting word! I am grateful to whoever invented it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/euthanasia-is-an-excellent-and-comforting-word-i-am-grateful-to/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Our toil must be in silence, and our efforts all in secret; for this enlightened age, when men believe not even what they see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/our-toil-must-be-in-silence-and-our-efforts-all-in-secret-for-this/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“It seems to me that the further East you go the more unpunctual are the trains. What ought they to be in China? -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/it-seems-to-me-that-the-further-east-you-go-the-more-unpunctual-are/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Despair has its own calms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/despair-has-its-own-calms/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“...his open nostril quivered with intent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/his-open-nostril-quivered-with-intent/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“And you, their best beloved one, are now to me, flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/and-you-their-best-beloved-one-are-now-to-me-flesh-of-my-flesh-blood/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [The only beautiful thing in the world whose beauty lasts for ever is a pure, fair soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/the-only-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-whose-beauty-lasts-for-ever-is/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“In manus tuas, Domine!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/in-manus-tuas-domine/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/find-that-the-district-he-named-is-in-the-extreme-east-of-the-country/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [She has man's brain--a brain that a man should have were he much gifted--and woman's heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/she-has-man-s-brain-a-brain-that-a-man-should-have-were-he-much/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) [Explore all 354 Bram Stoker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) ## More British museum quotes > [“Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum. What is to be insisted upon is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/shakespeare-acquired-more-essential-history-from-plutarch-than-most/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [If people don't like Marxism, they should blame the British Museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/if-people-don-t-like-marxism-they-should-blame-the-british-museum/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [The British Museum is great for seeing how excellent we were at stealing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/the-british-museum-is-great-for-seeing-how-excellent-we-were-at/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I viewed the morning, with much alarm. British Museum, had lost its charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beegie-adair/i-viewed-the-morning-with-much-alarm-british-museum-had-lost-its-charm/) [Beegie Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beegie-adair/) > [Read properly, fewer books than a hundred would suffice for a liberal education. Read superficially, the British Museum Library might still leave the student…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/read-properly-fewer-books-than-a-hundred-would-suffice-for-a-liberal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Socrates could enjoy a banquet now and again, and must have derived considerable satisfaction from his conversations while the hemlock was taking effect, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/socrates-could-enjoy-a-banquet-now-and-again-and-must-have-derived/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I’m curious about things that people aren’t supposed to see—so, for example, I liked going to the British Museum, but I would like it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-m-curious-about-things-that-people-aren-t-supposed-to-see-so-for/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [ It seems to me one cannot sit down in that place \[the Round Reading room of the British Museum\] without a heart full of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/it-seems-to-me-one-cannot-sit-down-in-that-place-the-round-reading/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“Nor have the lives of great men been exciting except at a few great moments. Socrates could enjoy a banquet now and again, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/nor-have-the-lives-of-great-men-been-exciting-except-at-a-few-great/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [We have a hieroglyphical inscription in the British Museum as early as the reign of Sevechus of the eighth century before the Christian era,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-sharpe/we-have-a-hieroglyphical-inscription-in-the-british-museum-as-early/) [Samuel Sharpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-sharpe/) > [ “Many historians regard him \[Offa\] as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before Alfred the Great. In the 780s he extended his power over most… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/many-historians-regard-him-offa-as-the-most-powerful-anglo-saxon-king/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [“London was like a machine. We were all being shot backwards and forwards on this plain foundation to make some pattern. The British Museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/london-was-like-a-machine-we-were-all-being-shot-backwards-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [When a man wants to write a book full of unassailable facts, he always goes to the British Museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/when-a-man-wants-to-write-a-book-full-of-unassailable-facts-he-always/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“The spring equinox celebration included a dawn trip to the nearby Rillaton Barrow, a Bronze Age burial mound high up on the Cheesewring Moor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-carlton/the-spring-equinox-celebration-included-a-dawn-trip-to-the-nearby/) [Carole Carlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-carlton/) > [“I used to wonder: Do only ignorant laypeople gaze on the colossal bust of Ramses II at the British Museum and ask themselves how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-waxman/i-used-to-wonder-do-only-ignorant-laypeople-gaze-on-the-colossal-bust/) [Sharon Waxman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-waxman/) [Browse all 68 British museum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-museum/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country. I find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina, in the midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe. I was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula, as there are no maps of this country as yet to compare with our own Ordnance Survey maps; but I found that Bistritz, the post town named by Count Dracula, is a fairly well-known place. 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