''Dreams of Roses and Fire'' ( sv, Drömmar om rosor och eld) is a novel by the Swedish author

Eyvind Johnson Eyvind Johnson (29 July 1900 – 25 August 1976) was a Swedish novelist and short story writer. Regarded as the most groundbreaking novelist in modern Swedish literature he became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and shared the 1974 Nob ...

published in 1949. Set in 1600s

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, it is based on the events known as the

Loudun possessions The Loudun possessions, known in French language, French as the Possessed of Loudun Affair (''Affaire des possédées de Loudun''), was a notorious Witch-hunt, witchcraft trial that took place in Loudun, Kingdom of France, in 1634. A convent of Ur ...

and the historical person

Urbain Grandier Urbain Grandier (1590 – 18 August 1634) was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun possessions". Most modern commentators have concluded that Gra ...

, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

. In the novel the spelling of Grandier's name is changed to Grainier. The novel was published to critical acclaim in 1949 and remains one of Eyvind Johnson's most widely read books. It has been published in many Swedish editions and translated into over a dozen languages. An English translation of the novel was published in 1984.

Plot

In 1617, the handsome and eloquent Urbain Grainier comes to the city as a new

catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

. He soon gets enemies among the citizens, who are envious of his arrogance and success with women. Another reason for the conflict is

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

's decision to demolish the city walls built by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

, which some citizens including Grainier oppose. A group of nuns settles in the city and is haunted by strange dreams. Their confessor suspects that the nuns are possessed with

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

s and calls for an exorcist. The exorcist make the nuns confess that Grainier is responsible for the dreams. The enemies of Grainier take the opportunity to have the priest convicted for

. He refuses to confess and his denunciators have him burned at the stake as a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

on the city square.

Translations

The novel has been translated into at least twelve languages including Danish, German, French, Dutch and English: * ''Drømme om roser og ild'', Köpenhamn 1952 * ''Träume von Rosen und Feuer'', Hamburg 1952 * ''De roses et de feu'', Paris 1956 * ''Dromen van rozen en vuur'', Amsterdam 1981 * ''Dreams of roses and fire'', New York 1984Libris
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Plot

Translations

References

Further reading