SYNOPSIS
In 1899-1900, a Swedish newspaper published a translation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This version, titled Mörkrets makter (Powers of Darkness), is almost twice as long as the standard text of Dracula published in 1897. In addition, it contains numerous scenes not included in the 1897 text, along with a new ending and significant alterations of character names (Jonathan Harker becomes Thomas Harker; Dracula himself is referred to as Mavros Draculitz). This edition of Powers of Darkness should not be confused with a book of the same title published in 2017, which was an English translation of a highly truncated Icelandic translation of Dracula that is about half the length of the 1897 text.
There is a strong possibility that the Swedish version of Dracula was founded on an early draft of the novel that found its way to Sweden in the 1890s. The translator may have added scenes and episodes to the text, especially passages where it is suggested that Dracula is conducting a fascist political conspiracy.
The Swedish text has been translated by Rickard Berghorn, a leading Swedish scholar and publisher of weird fiction, and edited by S. T. Joshi and Martin Andersson, who are both experts on the weird fiction of the turn of the 20th century, and this edition features an exclusive new foreword by Dacre Stoker. As John Edgar Browning has written: “Mörkrets makter (Powers of Darkness) is among the most important discoveries in Dracula’s long history.” Now, more than a century after its initial publication, it appears unabridged in English.
The Centipede Press edition of this book is a massive 824 pages with a comprehensive introduction and 11 full page and four double-page illustrations.
EDITION INFORMATION
Publisher | Centipede Press |
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