Stieg Larsson’s brother hits back at book claims

Joakim Larsson, who along with his father Erland control the estate of his older brother, has gone public with the website Moggliden, the Umeå-based company that manages the author’s rights.

On Tuesday, he wrote a statement in Swedish and English disputing a number of points Stieg Larsson’s partner Eva Gabrielsson has made in her new 160-page memoir “Millennium, Stieg and I” (Millennium, Stieg och jag) published in mid-January in Sweden, Norway and France.

“Ever since Stieg died in November 2004, I have had one thought foremost in my mind: to manage Stieg’s legacy in keeping with his spirit. For some time now, Eva Gabrielsson has spread a distorted picture of Stieg Larsson,” Joakim Larsson wrote on the website on Wednesday.

“I am extremely proud of my brother and have no interest in prolonging what has been described as a ‘conflict.’ But now that so many falsehoods and misleading statements have been repeated in book form, I would like to present my picture in greater detail,” he added.

Among the claims that Joakim Larsson makes is that aside from the literary rights, all of his brother’s possessions at the time of his death have gone to Gabrielsson.

In addition, the Larssons have “actively prevented attempts at” contributing to a “Stieg Larsson industry” aside from the books and films.

Joakim Larsson also emphasised that he and his father have ensured that all revenues have gone to the anti-racist activities of Expo, the foundation and magazine that his brother helped establish, as well as women’s shelters and protection for threatened journalists.

“We have no intention to use the money in any other way than as Stieg intended,” Joakim Larsson wrote.

He added that he and his father cannot ignore Swedish laws regarding inheritance and moral rights.

“We are Stieg’s legal heirs because he was unmarried and left no will. We are sorry there was no valid will since the public discussion is debilitating and takes energy from the important work,” Joakim Larsson wrote.

In addition to making sure that Gabrielsson received the apartment they lived in and all the financial assets his brother had when he died, he reiterated that he and his father have “always wanted” Gabrielsson to exercise influence over the management of the texts, but that they wanted to do so jointly.

Jaokim Larsson dismissed allegations that his brother was estranged from his family members, pointing out that he had a close relationship with his niece and that in a letter he left behind that called his “will,” he wrote that he loved his brother and his parents.

He also mentioned that Stieg Larsson wanted revenue from the fourth book in the Millennium series to go to Expo, but the manuscript remains missing.

In an appendix, Joakim Larsson contested 26 different passages in Gabrielsson’s new book. In addition, Joakim Larsson noted that Millennium heroine Lisbeth Salander was loosely based on his own daughter.

He singled out the similarities between his daughter and Salander in body weight, clothing and an interest in kickboxing, but has referred “Pippi Longstocking as an adult” as a prototype for Salander in previous interviews.