JOIN USLarsson left behind unfinished 'Millennium' novel
Eva Gabrielsson, who lived with Larsson for 30 years before his death following a heart attack in 2004—the year before the first of his “Millennium” novels was published—said Larsson had 200 pages worth of a fourth book in his laptop when he died, which she could finish if his family agreed.
Gabrielsson has been in a bitter dispute with Larsson’s father and brother over the rights to the writer’s works and income from them as Larsson left no will and the pair were unmarried, though she wrote that they were planning to wed.
She also said in the autobiographical book co-written with French journalist Marie-Francoise Colombani that she had proposed to the family that she manage Larsson’s works, allowing her to work with the text of the fourth book and finish it, “which I could have done.” But the family said no.
“I will not say what the fourth book is about, and moreover there are no more texts,” she wrote in “Millennium, Stieg and me,” which has just come out in Sweden, Norway and France.
Larsson’s books became a sensation after the first one was published in mid-2005, with the Swedish title “Men Who Hate Women,” which became “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” when it was later published in English.
The two other books, “The Girl Who Played with Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest” completed the best-selling trilogy. She said the tattooed, cyber-punk hero of the books, Lisbeth Salander “gradually frees herself of her demons and enemies.”
Gabrielsson said the life she and Larsson lived together and their common experience were an integral part of the books, allowing him to produce 2,000 pages of work in just two years.
“His childhood is included, as is mine. Our struggles, our commitment, trips, passions and our worries,” she added. Gabrielsson outlines which real people and fictional figures inspired characters in the trilogy.
She said Pippi Longstocking was probably one of the main inspirations for Salander, but that the character also shared some of Larsson’s traits, such as an interest in chess.
He was also generally interested in strong women and when in London would go to look at the statue of ancient British tribal chief Boudicca, who rebelled against the Romans. “She was one of Stieg’s favorite heros,” she added.