Rising from the crypt, ‘Powers of Darkness’ surrounds ‘Dracula’ with mystery – Concord Register

Powers of Darkness recently hit bookstores, a fascinating take on Irish author 1897 gothic horror novelTurns out its a major literary discovery that brings with it a convoluted back story (Overlook Press, $30, 320 pages).

The tale of this lost version of Dracula began in 1900, when Icelandic journalist Valdimar smundsson made a project of translating Dracula from English into his native language. The Icelandic edition was titled Makt Myrkranna (Powers of Darkness), whose existence was unknown outside of Iceland for nearly a century. It wasnt until 1986 that Dracula scholars came across the book and were shocked to find the preface had been written by Stoker himself (more about that later). They translated the preface into English but stopped there, assuming the novel was a condensation of Stokers original.

In 2014, another Dracula scholar, Hans Corneel de Roos intrigued by an anomaly in Stokers preface translated the entire text, which was a first. He was astounded to discover that smundsson had not merely translated the novel into Icelandic but had dramatically changed Stokers classic work, adding characters, simplifying the plot and making it more erotic.

has an introduction and detailed annotations by de Roos, and a foreword by Dacre Stoker, great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker and author of Dracula: The Un-Dead. Dracula scholar John Edgar Browning contributes the afterword. Vintage photos and illustrations (including one of Count Draculas castle) further enrich the book.

We caught up with de Ross in his home city of Munich, Germany, via email. He is the author of The Ultimate Dracula and winner of the Research Award from the Transylvanian Society of Dracula.

Q: How did all this happen?

A: I had read the English translation of Stokers preface, and I was writing an article about his repeated claim that the events reported in his novel really took place. But some things seemed confusing. So I decided to look for the original Icelandic text of the preface to see if I could find out more.

I (tracked it down) and also discovered the rest of the Icelandic text (of the novel). It had been published in a newspaper before it appeared as a book, and it did not match the English text of Dracula at all.

Q: Why would smundsson translate Dracula into Icelandic in the first place?

A: He wanted to attract more readers to his newspaper, Fjallkonan, with a good suspense story, and the most modern stories back then came from London. Arthur Conan Doyle was a very popular writer in Iceland, and his books are mentioned in Makt Myrkranna.

Q: What are some of the differences between the two?

A: In the Icelandic version, Count Dracula has political ambitions. He and diplomats from various countries are conspiring to overthrow all European democratic institutions. Secondly, we find many new characters who do not appear in Dracula. Lucy Westenra has an uncle, for example. Dr. John Seward meets a mysterious Countess Varkony. There are are two (new) police detectives.

Then there are the encounters between Jonathon Harker and a blond vampire woman. They meet several times, and Harker cannot get enough of her, although he tries to resist. That is very different from Dracula, (in which) Harker is thrilled by three vampire sisters only once, and then is disgusted by them.

Q: How shocked were you to discover a different story from the one Stoker wrote?

A: My translation was a big surprise, and I was thrilled, because all the Dracula scholars I knew had always believed that Makt Myrkranna was only an abridged translation of Dracula but basically the same story. It turned out that it had a new plot, new characters and even a new style.

Q: Any speculation of why smundsson would veer so far off course?

A: He wasnt a novelist, so maybe Stoker wanted to secretly launch a spicier version of Dracula that would not have been accepted in Victorian England.

Q: Are you suggesting smundsson translated an unknown version of Dracula written by Bram Stoker?

A: I rather believe Makt Myrkranna may contain plot points that were included in an earlier draft of Dracula. The (conjecture) is that Stoker had been working on an alternative plot, or that he provided an earlier draft of Dracula to smundsson, or that he had a more sexy narrative in a drawer. The intriguing point is, some ideas that are described in Stokers early notes for the novel but that were not published in Dracula can be found in the Icelandic version.

Q: For example?

A: In Stokers notes, Count Dracula has a deaf-mute housekeeper, but in Dracula he lives alone. In Makt Myrkranna, Jonathon Harkers meals are cooked by a deaf and mute old woman. Dr. John Sewards asylum is placed in the east of London, just like in the notes. Count Dracula makes courtesy visits to Lucys sickbed and appears at dinner parties. Of course, this all could be coincidence, but there are (a half-dozen) such amazing parallels.

Q: Which story is better?

A: Personally, I like the Icelandic story more. It is more to the point and less sentimental. It has some amazing scenes in which Count Dracula leads a horde of apelike followers during a sacrificial ceremony.

Q: In Hollywoods filmography of Stokers vampire thriller, which is your favorite?

A: The first time I got interested in the Dracula story was when I saw (Francis Ford Coppolas) (1992, starring Gary Oldman). Another favorite is directed by Roman Polanski (1967). Another very funny parody is (1989).

Ive seen a lot more, of course, (including) the (eight-title) (starring Christopher Lee), (1922) and the Bela Lugosi Dracula. I binge-watched the complete

After my translation was released, an Icelandic filmmaker announced that he wants to produce a TV series based on Makt Myrkranna. That would be exciting to see the novel come to life.

Allen Pierleoni: ,

Powers of Darkness

By Bram Stoker and Valdimar smundsson, translated by Hans de Roos

Overlook Press, $30, 320 pages

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Rising from the crypt, 'Powers of Darkness' surrounds 'Dracula' with mystery - Concord Register