Arthur Holmwood

Later Lord Godalming, heir to the estate of Ring, and one of the most desirable bachelors in London prior to his engagement to Lucy Westenra, Holmwood provided the hunters with financial backing and the shield of his reputation. He took the lead in tracking down and destroying Dracula’s network of refuges across London, and he delivered the killing blow to Lucy.Taciturn and solemn, Holmwood seemed willing to follow Van Helsing’s lead at every turn.

EDOM: If Operation Edom did manage to recruit a vampire, then obviously the eventual goal would have to be a British vampire — and who would be more trustworthy than a man of noble blood? Holmwood was Edom’s vampire-designate until the Count targeted Lucy instead of the young lord. Possibly, Van Helsing’s intervention ruined this scheme. If it were not for the transfusions, then Lucy would have succumbed weeks earlier, with Arthur by her side ready to join her in Un-Death. Note that he practically volunteers to be drained by the dying Lucy, only to be blocked by Van Helsing.

MINION: Note Holmwood’s telegram (CU72) in which he says that he has news for Seward and Morris that will “make their ears tingle.” This news is never described, but it cannot be word of his engagement to Lucy. Both men already know about the engagement; indeed, Morris references it in the very letter Holmwood replies to! The timing, however, coincides with Dracula finalizing his travel plans for the move to England. If Holmwood was in communication with Dracula — perhaps having met the vampire during his travels — then his Renfield-like excitement at the impending arrival of “the Master” might have spilled over into an unwise telegram to his friends. The mysterious and convenient deaths of Holmwood’s father and Lucy’s mother, which left Arthur in possession of a title and an immense fortune, may have been Dracula’s payment to Holmwood for services rendered. Presumably, Dracula’s attack on Lucy convinced Holmwood to switch sides (out of chivalry or jealousy at being snubbed), and he then concealed any previous knowledge of the vampire to avoid disgrace. Records of his involvement with Dracula may still exist in the archives at Ring. It may be worth noting that Sir Francis Varney made his home at “Ringwood” — possibly the anonymous author of Varney the Vampire combined “Ring” and “Holmwood” to insinuate something about the Godalming lineage. Holmwood may have launched Edom to remove a rival vampire!

CLEAR NAME:Three viscounts died in 1894, and any of their two heirs might be the actual Holmwood: Hon. Albert Henry George Grey (becomes 4th Earl Grey and 4thViscount Howick in 1894), Hon. Henry Charles Hardinge (becomes 3rd Viscount Hardinge in 1894). The Hon. George Godolphin Osborne becomes 10th Duke of Leeds and 10th Viscount Latimer, and 3rd Baron Godolphin, in 1895; the name is close enough that Stoker may have moved the year as part of his coverup. The Hon. Francis Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig, dies without issue in 1894 in a mysterious shooting incident in Somerset.Adding a fictional son seems a small price to pay to get a mysterious shooting incident.