228. Draculae part 2: Surprises in the Vaults

228. Draculae part 2: Surprises in the Vaults

From The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman

May 25, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

This episode explores the Icelandic adaptation of Dracula and its journey back into print, alongside discussions of related translations and literary memes.

Happy World Dracula Day to all who celebrate! Visit theallusionist.org/draculae2 for more information about the topics in this episode plus a transcript. This is the second episode of the Draculae miniseries, about a literary mystery which came to me via a meme: “Someone translated  Dracula  into Icelandic, and it took over 100 years for anyone to point out he just made a fanfic rewrite of what he wanted the story to be.” In Draculae part 2, Ásgeir Jónsson explains how he got that Icelandic adaptation of Dracula back into print, to little fanfare - but then Dutch scholar Hans Corneel de Roos set about making an English translation. Following that: like me, Will Trimble also got meme-struck, and that propelled him to get a translation of the Swedish version that begat the Icelandic one. Before listening to this, check out the first episode of the Draculae miniseries explaining the three versions of  Dracula :  Dracula  published by Bram Stoker in 1897; the Icelandic version  Makt Myrkranna  by newspaper editor Valdimar Ásmundsson, serialised in his newspaper Fyallkonan in 1900-1901; and the Swedish version  Mörkrets makter  by an author…

People in this episode

Host: Helen Zaltzman

Guest: Ásgeir Jónsson

Topics covered

  • literary mystery
  • Dracula adaptations
  • Icelandic literature
  • translation
  • memes
  • history of literature

Keywords

  • Dracula
  • Icelandic adaptation
  • literary mystery
  • translation
  • Valdimar Ásmundsson
  • Hans Corneel de Roos
  • Will Trimble
  • memes
  • Swedish version

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Dracula, Makt Myrkranna, Mörkrets makter

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