The origin of the first Dracula adaptation

Abstract

Over the past few years, early serializations and translations of Dracula have become a major research topics 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/editor and traces some of the metaphors used in Mörkrets makter back to his earlier writings for Svenska Familj-Journalen.