Glad you agree about the title. I had a look at Wikipedia to see if the others have different ones in Swedish and it looks like they’re the same, because they were published after his death. (And the last 2/5 were written by someone else).
But I found this, which more or less confirms that it was an unpopular decision that came from the publishers
“Both Larsson's longtime partner
Eva Gabrielsson and English translator
Steven T. Murray have said that
Christopher MacLehose(who works for British publisher
Quercus) "needlessly prettified" the English translation; as such, Murray requested he be credited under the pseudonym "Reg Keeland".
[7] The English release also changed the title, even though Larsson specifically refused to allow the Swedish publisher to do so, and the size of Salander's dragon tattoo; from a large piece covering her entire back, to a small shoulder tattoo.
[8]”
I was very anti the first English film adaptation in principle. The idea that people were too lazy to read subtitles was what bothered me rather than any sentimentality towards the Swedish version which I found rather average. I ended up seeing it for lack of anything else on and was surprised by how good it was - much better than the Swedish I had to admit. The follow ups were very dull tho.
I think they only made the Swedish series follow ups didn’t they ? I was working in a cinema when the third was out so saw it that way , not really understanding the context and remember thinking it was less ‘girl who kicked the hornets nest’ more ‘men talking in rooms.’
She really irritated me how obsessed she was about a man she hardly knew!
