“Only two people know about the content of the manuscript: Larsson’s longtime partner Eva Gabrielsson, who has refused to talk about it and won’t reveal the whereabouts of the last installment in the series, which started with “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”; and Larsson’s friend John-Henri Holmberg, who received an e-mail about the book from Larsson less than a month before his death on Nov. 9, 2004.”—from the Associated Press article by Malin Rising, published July 12, 2010 (See link below)
When Stieg Larsson died at the young age of fifty, he died without a will, creating a monstrous situation for his life companion, Eva Gabrielsson, with whom he had lived for over thirty years and who had worked with him on the first three novels in the Millenium Trilogy. In a video interview (twenty minutes long, with subtitles), Gabrielsson discusses her life after the death of Larsson and the publication of the first three books. www.stieglarsson.com
She indicates that the reason that they never married was for their mutual safety. Larsson, a journalist who was a dedicated crusader against the active neo-Nazi party and other far right organizations in Sweden, was aware that he might be killed for his efforts, as other crusaders had been. If he and Gabrielsson were married, they would have had to post their addresses with their names on the door to their apartment. If they were not married, this requirement could be bypassed and their safety increased. They avoided being photographed together and interviewed together, and Gabrielsson kept an unusually low profile, again for their mutual safety.
Because Larsson died without a will, however, his whole estate went to his brother and his father. Larsson lived with his grandparents when he was a child, he was never close to his father, and he had little or no contact with his brother. Still, they inherited the entire estate, and Gabrielsson inherited nothing. Under Swedish law, she has no rights. She is not allowed to challenge the distribution of his property in court and cannot receive a court settlement. Her only hope is an out-of-court settlement with his family, but their talks were suspended in June.
The New York Times details some of the inheritance issues here, in an eight-page article by Charles McGrath published just before the release of THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST. www.nytimes.com
Eva Gabrielsson gives her own story in a book supposedly being published this summer, but it is not yet listed on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk (where the Larsson books were each published a year or so earlier than in the US), or on Amazon in France, where rumors say it will be published first. Gabrielsson has indicated that she will say nothing more about her book until her publisher releases it, though rumors say it will be this September.
In the meantime, her story continues here: http://publishingperspectives.com/?p=291
Long-time rumors of a partially completed fourth novel (purported to be on a laptop in Gabrielsson’s possession) are addressed in the Gabrielsson interview at 8:30 and 15:06 of the 20-minute video, and in an article by Malin Rising for the Associated Press, widely distributed and available here: www.today.msnbc.msn.com .
The Ottawa Citizen claims that one of Larssen’s friends said Larssen planned to set the fourth book in Sachs Harbor, on Banks Island, part of Canada’s remote Northwest Territories, a dramatically different setting from the Swedish setting of the first three novels. Gabrielsson, however, says that the fourth novel will never see publication. www.ottawacitizen.com. Larssen’s publisher remains mute.
In the meantime, the film of the second novel in the trilogy, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, has just been released in the US and is now available in a few select theatres.
Notes: The photo of Eva Gabrielsson by Rob Schoenbaum appears in the LA Times: www.latimes.com
The photo of Stieg Larsson is by Jan Collsioo and appears here: www.svd.se
Reviews of all three Millenium Trilogy novels, video trailers for all three of the films (all released in Sweden last year and being released in the US with subtitles), and a review of the first film released in the US, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, are available on this site. See listings under the Author tab.
Oh wow, I had no idea about any of this. I haven’t read any of the Stieg Larsson series but keep seeing them all over the place. I hope everything turns out well for Eva Gabrielsson. While I understand her reluctance to publish the unfinished fourth manuscript, I wonder if maybe she could post it online? That way it wouldn’t have to be regarded as a full book but would still be accessible to Larsson’s fans.
Hi, El. I think the issue is one of who owns the manuscript, which is not finished. Since she is trying to get Larssen’s father and brother to make her the caretaker of his literary trust, I suspect that anything she does that alienates them will hurt her chances of sharing in his legacy. She has indicated that she is not interested in the money, that she will donate much of anything that she gets to causes important to him. At any rate, the book is not finished, and she would have to finish it or find someone else to do so. There have long been rumors that she is at least as much a part of the writing of these books as Larssen was, though she denies this in the video interview. (She has said in other places that she was more than just a reader of the ms, so who knows?). Guess we’ll just have to wait till her book comes out. Thanks for writing. Mary
With so many people supporting Ms. Gabrielsson, I hope she will be blessed for all her contributions and efforts in bringing Larsson’s work into published form. After watching the video, I wish I’d known Steig Larsson for his love of fun, but sense of justice towards women. How beautiful that when Ms. Gabrielsson looked at his manuscripts for the Millenium series she felt they were beyond her editorial touch, saying, “It came from a well spring. The smallest pebble I drop into it might do some harm.” I feel like I’m on the verge of a wonderful personal discovery and look forward to reading his books tremendously.
If it weren’t for the fact that I’m now looking forward to the second of the Swedish films of these novels, I’d be wishing to read the three books all over again myself. Fortunately, for those of us who have already read the books, the films (despite the unusually graphic violence) offer wonderful new insights and new chances to relive the books. Do read the books in order. That’s important. Then see the films in order. Best, Mary