The origin of the first Dracula adaptation Cover Image

The origin of the first Dracula adaptation
The origin of the first Dracula adaptation

Author(s): Hans Corneel De Roos
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Editura Universitatii Transilvania din Brasov
Keywords: Dracula; Makt myrkranna; Mörkrets makter; Sweden; Andersson-Edenberg

Summary/Abstract: Over the past few years, early serializations and translations of Dracula have become a major research topic in Gothic studies. The Icelandic version, Makt myrkranna, for decades believed to be the first translation of Dracula, recently turned out to be based on a still earlier Swedish adaptation, Mörkrets makter. This paper establishes that Mörkrets makter was serialized in two distinct forms, one maintaining the epistolary form throughout the novel, one abandoning it after the Transylvanian part. How Dracula came to Sweden and whether Bram Stoker gave his permission for the Swedish serializations – or even actively helped shape them– still is an open question. This article identifies Anders Albert Andersson-Edenberg as the Swedish translator/editorand traces some of the metaphors used in Mörkrets makter back to his earlier writings for Svenska Familj-Journalen.

  • Issue Year: 10/2017
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 131-146
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: English