The story was translated in English as early as 1930, by Alex Matson, a Finnish literary scholar and world-traveller, but the first (and only) edition from Jonathan Cape seems to be very rare: there's only one copy for measly 550 dollars on Abebooks. It's also a very beautiful story of an unfulfilled love. It still feels fresh and packs quite a punch. Kallas's language and narration make a two-fold statement: while the narration and the use of old language could've been possible only in the modernist era, it also makes sure that The Wolf's Bride isn't easily dated. The narrator seems to be well-educated, since he/she (most certainly 'he') can talk about werewolves and the studies that's been made on them. In Sudenmorsian/The Wolf's Bride Aino Kallas (the link is in English) uses archaic language of the 17th century and the story takes the form of a ballad, seen by an outsider, who shares his/her theological views on the side. The most important aspect of the story is that it's a love story, a story of a forester's wife, called Aalo, who can assume a wolf's shape and is killed in the end by her husband's silver bullet. I should say it fits the genre bill, but I won't force my view down anyone's throat.

Many friends of the book don't necessarily see it as horror. It was originally published in 1928 and has been practically the only classic werewolf story written in Finnish language. I read this small classic of Finnish literature for the first time last week.

Sudenmorsian by Aino Kallas