Long John Silver:the true and eventful History of My Life of Liberty and Adventure as a Gentleman of Fortune and Enemy to Mankind

As a child, when on holiday on my grandparents' farm in southern Queensland, I discovered a small cupboard of books that once belonged to my mother and her brother. Among the books was a copy of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. One of the memorable characters in the book was the pirate, Long John Silver.

In Long John Silver by Bjorn Larsson (translated by Tom Geddes) we have John Silver's account of his long life at sea. The subtitle of the book - the true and eventful History of My Life of Liberty and Adventure as a Gentleman of Fortune and Enemy to Mankind - indicates that this will be a an account of exciting and dangerous exploits.

As John Silver nears the end of his life he realises that he needs to make his story known in contrast to accounts of his deeds and doings perpetrated by others. He is a wanted man and it is inevitable that although he is presently safe on the island of Madagascar he will eventually be discovered. He has no intention of being taken alive. The account of his sea-going adventures will be enjoyed by readers of the books of Patrick O'Brian. 

Throughout the book references to real people are made including Daniel Defoe who he meets researching a book about pirates and pirateering. John Silver provides him with some information on the condition that Silver's name is not mentioned. When John Silver completes his own account of his life at sea he bequeaths it into the care of Jim Hawkins.

All in all this is the story of a sometimes troubled man recounting and justifying the actions of his life at sea.

The Stieg Larsson legacy

In 2004 Stieg Larsson gave his Swedish publisher three volumes of what has become known as The Millennium Trilogy -Men who Hate Women published outside Sweden as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Stirred the Hornet's Nest. Later that year, before the final editing of the books, Stieg Larsson had a heart attack and died.

The books have become bestsellers world wide and the stories have been transferred to films. Events that have occurred since the author's death, particularly the dispute between Larsson's family and Eva Gabrielsson, his partner of thirty years, have raised additional interest in the media. As Stieg and Eva did not marry and he did not leave a will Eva is not entitled to any of the money from his estate unless the Larsson family give her part of it. There is also discussion over the draft of a fourth book which is currently held by Gabrielsson.

Many articles and books have been written about Stieg Larsson. Three titles that I found in the library recently are Stieg and Me: Memories of Life with Stieg Larsson by Eva Gabrielsson (2011), The Man Who Left Too Soon: the Biography of Stieg Larsson by Barry Forshaw (2010) and Secrets of the Tattooed Girl: The Unauthorised Guide to theStieg Larsson Trilogy by Dan Burnstein, Arne de Keijzer and John-Henri Holmberg (2011).

Eva Gabrielsson writes not only of her life with Stieg Larsson but also provides details of his early life living with his grandparents until he was nine, the strained relationship with his parents and brother, the causes that drove Stieg including politics (especially his crusade against the rise of the Neo-Nazis in Sweden) and  support of feminist issues, his journalist career including his magazine, Expo, and the writing of the trilogy. She also discusses the events that have occurred since Larsson's death, especially Sweden's laws regarding de facto relationships. She provides an interesting insight into the life and passions of the author.

In The Man Who Left Too Soon, Forshaw looks primarily at the writing of the books. He describes the groups to which Larsson belonged at various times and the use of the experience gained from these groups in the plot of the trilogy. He is particularly interested in Larsson's interest in reading crime fiction and discusses the influence of and reference to other writers and characters in the books. A major section of the book is a plot analysis of each volume. The final chapters look at other Scandinavian crime writers and responses of crime writers to the work of Stieg Larsson.

The Unauthorised Guide to the Stieg Larsson Trilogy is a collection of articles by a variety of writers on Stieg Larsson and the three books. Topics include the author, why the books have made such an impact on the public, the editing and translation of the novels, Larsson's interest in science fiction and crime novels, Nordic Noir, the characters - especially Salander, how the book portrays Sweden, feminism and the mystery of the fourth book. An interesting collection of articles for those who want to further investigate issues raised in the novels.

The girl who kicked the hornets' nest

The third volume of the Millenium series. Two badly injured bodies arrive at the hospital, one being that of Lisbeth Salander whose wounds include a bullet wound in her head. The second person is her father, Zalachenko, who after defecting from Russia lived under the name of Karl Alex Bodin.

Lisbeth survives surgery and is kept under guard in hospital until well enough to be tranferred to prison and then tried for a number of offences including attempted murder. She continues her policy of limited communication with the police but is persuaded by her lawyer, Advocat Gianni, and the lawyer's brother, Mikael Blomkvist, to prepare her story to present at the trial

Lisbeth has many supporters, particularly Mikael Blomkvist, the staff at Millenium, her former employer, Armansky, her former guardian, Palmgren, her doctor and some members of the police who with many others work to help her and to expose the injustices that have been done to her in the past. Millenium plans to publish a special issue of the magazine and a book to coincide with the beginning of the trial. However Lisbeth also has made many enemies, especially those who will lose their jobs if the truth is revealed.

Like the two other books in the series - The girl with the dragon tattoo and The girl who played with fire - this book is hard to put down as the plot unravels. The girl who kicked the hornets' nest provides a fitting conclusion to this three volume story, unravelling a number of events that commenced in the earlier volumes.

The girl who played with fire

The sequel by Steig Larrson to his book, The girl with the dragon tattoo. Mikael Blomvist and the staff of Millennium magazine are approached with the offer to publish a book exposing the sex trafficking industry. Dag Svensson, the author, was prepared to have the book thoroughly edited and investigated by Blomvist and was also to write articles for Millennnium. His partner, Mia Johansson, had recently completed a thesis on the topic.

Lisbeth Salander had been overseas for a year but when she returned to Sweden she decided to settle old scores with people who had tormented her in the past, especially her guardian, Nils Bjuman. When the gun used to shoot Bjurman, Svensson and Johansson is discovered with her fingerprints on it, she becomes a major suspect in three murders. Lisabeth is determined to find the truth and also discover the whereabouts of the elusive Zalachenko and Niedermann. She insists on working alone but her friends including Blomvist, Armansky and Palmgren all attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding the life of Lisabeth.

The girl with the dragon tattoo

I had heard on the grapevine that The girl with the dragon tattoo written by Stieg Larsson was a must read book and the grapevine was correct.

Mikael Blomkvist, journalist and part owner of the magazine, Millennium, was found guilty of writing a libellous article about industrialist and financier, Hans-Erik Wennerstrom, resulting in a large fine and a three month gaol term. In order to save the magazine he decided to (temporarily) resign and move to the country for a period.

Lisbeth Salander, aged in her mid twenties but looking younger, worked part time for the firm Milton Security as an investigator. Although not always the most reliable of workers as far as adhering to office principles, her reports were always thorough and frequently contained information that normally would not be available to researchers.

Henrik Vanger was 82 and former CEO of the successful Vanger Company which employed many people in Sweeden. Each birthday Henrik received a flower in a frame. The first flower had arrived a year after the disappearance and possible murder of his niece, Harriet, thirty-six years previously. Her disappearance was still a mystery and had become an obsession of her uncle.

Henrik, via his lawyer, commissioned Lisbeth to prepare a report on Mikael Blomvist and then asked to start investigating Wennerstrom. He then asked Mikael to spend a year writing a history of the Vanger family as a cover for investigating Harriet's disappearance. As well as a large salary Henrik promised to provide information about Wennestrom that would help prove that he was a criminal.

Mikael reluctantly accepts the project but soon becomes immersed in the intricacies of the Vagner family and also uncovers leads in the investigation of Harriet's disappearance missed in the initial investigation. As the investigation proceeds he needs a research assistant and Lisbeth is employed to assist him.

The book is more than an excellent crime mystery but also describes the attempts to keep the magazine afloat, questions the ethics of withholding the publication of material relating to a crime which would harm others if made public, and allows the reader to explore the lives of the characters, particularly Lisbeth - the girl with the dragon tattoo.

The girl with the dragon tattoo is the first book in the Millennium Trilogy. I look forward to reading the next instalment.