On May 26, 1897, Irish author Bram Stoker's novel Dracula is published for the first time. The novel tells the story of the vampiric Count Dracula's move from Transylvania to England in order to continue his vampire dynasty and the efforts of a small band led by Professor Abraham van Helsing to put an end to Dracula and his plan. Not only does Stoker's story establish two well-known fictional characters (Dracula and van Helsing) but it also established many of the elements associated with vampire-related fiction to this day. Though not as well received in its time, Dracula has become one of the great literary works of fiction. Its popularity has also resulted in many adaptations including film adaptions where the titular characters has been portrayed by such talented actors as Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Gary Oldman. As of 2009, the character of Dracula has appeared in a major role in 217 films (though not all adaptations of the novel). This places Dracula as the character with the second greatest number of appearances in film with only Sherlock Holmes appearing more frequently.