Part 2: here the unknown author has changed the names a bit from the originals. But he has kept Arthur Holmwood, son of Lord Godalming. So curious, to what end?
Here‘s who‘s who so far in order of appearance:
Jonathan Harker is Tom Harker
Dracula is Draculitz
Mina Murray is Wilma Murray
Lucy Westernra is Lucy Western
& many new characters
But
Arthur Holmwood is Arthur Holmwood
Trying not to peak ahead to see if Van Helsing is Van Helsing.
Almost 300 pages into this chunkster I‘m finally at Part Two!
Well, well, well there‘s an evil magic ring in this Swedish version of Dracula. A ruby ring.
Could this 1899-1900 version have any influence on Tolkien? Did Tolkien read Swedish? He was a language genius, so maybe.
This is how far I am in this chunkster of a book. I‘m still at it. Because the book is so valuable it doesn‘t go on work trips. And it‘s not broken into chapters but only into 3
Parts, I have to find loads of time to sit down with it. So I may be reading about Count Draculitz through Christmas at this rate!!
Harker‘s Journal, the 21st. “Suddenly, there appeared a stunning figure in the middle of this portal – a tall old man, with thick white hair and a long, white mustache, wearing an ankle-length robe of a fiery red, which left his sinewy arms, as well as his throat bare. In one hand, he held a long black rod; the other rested lightly on the head of a gigantic wolf, which seemed to follow him obediently as a dog. I recognized the Count…”
Settling down for an evening of reading this Swedish version of Dracula. It‘s insane. Harker has found a secret door and down in the depths of the castle 150 “bestial” people, half-naked who may be worshiping Draculitz. Written only 2 years after Dracula itself, this version is so much more grotesque and cultish. Harker has been unfaithful to “Mina” and he‘s been attacked by some hairy monster during the daytime. Many times creepier than Dracula.
An illustration from an event that takes place in this longer Swedish version of Dracula, which doesn‘t occur in the original.
The more I read of this much lengthier Swedish 1899 version of Dracula, the more I feel like Bram Stoker wrote it! I always wondered why Dracula was so enamored with the fact that his new estate in England had a chapel. Right now, Thomas Harker is exploring the castle at length, far more than in the original. Awful things happen during his explorations and he‘s trying to find his way back to the parts he knows. And he finds this chapel!
“Your Mr. Conan Doyle has written many interesting—ah—most interesting books—I have read them with pleasure and they have taught me much about London—but I also read your newspapers, dear friend and there I see that barely 3 to 4% of all the crimes committed are discovered and punished! Yes, London is a wonderful city.”
Oh Draculitz! Of course you‘d love the London of Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes fame!
I suppose it‘s important to note that in this book, Dracula is called Draculitz
#hauntedshelf #blackcatcrew @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
This book is chock full of illustrations (whose artists each signed this edition). The is the “first” time Harker sees Dracula
#hauntedshelf #blackcatcrew @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
While there are vastly more details in this Swedish version of Dracula, this is the first substantial difference from the original. If you are a Dracula fan, you‘ll understand right away. Spoiler in the comments.
#hauntedshelf #blackcatcrew @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
Finally, the infamous Jonathan Harker in the English version (on the right) is now Tom Harker in the Swedish version (on the left).
I had read quite a bit 3 years ago but ran out of time to finish it. But I‘d read enough to remember that in the Swedish version, Dracula is very enamored with Naziism and wants to spread vampirism worldwide. Whoever wrote this Swedish version in 1899-1900 was prescient, foreseeing what was to come.
The opening of the English version (on the right) of Dracula is much shorter than the much lengthier Swedish version (on the left). The Swedish version has the initials B.S. (alluding to Bram Stoker?). The English version doesn‘t attribute this paragraph to anyone.
Husband gave me this unusual book knowing I‘m a Dracula aficionado for my birthday 3 years ago. The history of this book is fascinating, and quite different from the more well-known much shorter Icelandic version. This first paragraph explains its origins. It wasn‘t until 2017 that the translator of this version realized the scope of what he‘d found. A much longer version of Dracula, with some differences that shed no light on its author. Did ⬇️
And…the book cover comes with pockets! One with a zipper and three for pens, pencils, etc (which were also in my gifts from @Chrissyreadit #fallingforfallswap2025 )!
What book fits perfectly in my new book cover? Yes! These cute kitties are hiding Dracula! And thank heavens. This edition is rare and valuable and I was pondering how to read it while protecting it. @Chrissyreadit Your gift couldn‘t be more timely!! #fallingforfallswap2025
Husband bought me this Swedish version of Dracula 3 years ago and I‘m going to try to tackle it again. It‘s a chunkster I was trying to read for Halloween but didn‘t make it. I‘m starting it earlier this year. The existence of this rare and unique book is a historical literary mystery. Read about this book to find out more. #hauntedshelf #blackcatcrew @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
Now that I‘ve finished the #readingAfrica challenge I‘m picking up this bad boy again. #chunksterchallenge at 824 pages!
I was an unfortunate victim of a nasty headache much of yesterday and sadly didn‘t start all my #scarathlon posts! But I am making up for it today starting with yesterday‘s photo challenge, black (& you see how it picks up fingerprints 😞).
#scarathlondailyprompts #black #teamslaughter @Clwojick @StayCurious
I‘m loving my decision to listen to the original Dracula on audiobook and reading this Swedish version that was only recently discovered and translated into English. It‘s more than twice the length of the original and still early in there are notable differences, like here: Harker‘s meeting and talking to 1 of the witches on occasion. In the Swedish version, Dracula has an old woman who is his house servant but he has none in the original. ⬇️
“To rule, my young gentleman, to rule is the only thing that makes life worth living – whether you rule over the will of men or their hearts!”
Draculitz, in this Swedish version, purportedly is a fascist, hoping to create a super race of vampires to rule the world. This is the first hint of that.
I wish I could read this alongside the “original” Dracula that I‘ve read so many times (but then I‘d never finish!). This version is twice as long and was published as a serial in a Swedish newspaper two years after Dracula was published in 1897, only recently discovered to be a vastly different version of Dracula.
Reading this edition feels like I‘m hanging out with an old friend about whom I‘m learning new things. It‘s a very enjoyable feeling.
“The room was circular like a kind of library; all the walls were completely covered with bookshelves… I immediately made a closer inspection of the books. Some of them were apparently very old, a few even handwritten, and thick covers of leather or leather-clad wood—Their titles and contents were to a large extent completely incomprehensible to me, although some, as far as I could judge, dealt with such subjects as astrology, alchemy, etc.”
I have finished the lengthy introduction and the very interesting translator notes (which bear on who may have written this extended Swedish version of Dracula—I‘m reading the first English translation of it) and Stoker‘s preface. I‘m heading to bed but anxiously awaiting the start of this chunkster version of Dracula (or Draculitz in this version). #chunksterchallenge @Amiable
Sorry I‘m geeking about this book and I may be sharing too much. But I love this:
“Stoker copied a large number of inscriptions from tomb monuments, some of which made their way into the finished novel.“
I may have spent an enormous amount of time transcribing tombstones in my pre-kid years, many times with Mom helping (thanks @Doll8455 !). We did this before ancestry.com became a thing. I‘d post lists on the internet for fellow genealogists.
The translator of this book, who discovered this lengthier Swedish version of Dracula, has a detailed introduction. In this section he makes the case that the lengthier Swedish version was based on Bram Stoker‘s notes. This is one of the examples.
The person he references, Eighteen-Bisang, has a book coming out called “Drafts of Dracula.”
It‘s time for a little 19th century gossip:
“Stoker‘s wife Florence also had a relationship with Oscar Wilde before she abandoned him for Stoker.“
Who knew?
Time for me to spend an evening with Dracula, or rather Draculitz as he is called in this edition
“It turned out that the Swedish adaptation of Dracula was almost twice as long … with a plethora of memorable characters, scenes, and plotlines of which there is no trace in Dracula, and with an entirely new ending. In one stroke it turned out that the Icelandic version was nothing but a severely abridged translation, which also lacked details and scenes from the Swedish original. The Swedish Mörkrets makter was the “real deal.“”
The signature page.
I received a very late birthday present from the husband today 💝 because it just arrived, a limited signed edition 403 of only 500 printed copies of the complete translation of the Swedish edition of Dracula-twice as long as the original-which is one of my all-time favorite books. So, I have decided to abandon my current chunkster for this one at 824 pages! I used to read Dracula every Halloween, so it's time to do it again! #chunksterchallenge
Powers of Darkness: The First Dracula | 
