Bill Bergson ( sv, Kalle Blomkvist) is a fictional character created by
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
writer
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...
. The first book featuring him was published in 1946.
Lindgren's detective story is about Bill Bergson, a more-or-less ordinary Swedish boy with an extraordinary fascination with detective work. He lives in the small town . He identifies clues, investigates enigmas, and solves the riddle surrounding a mysterious stranger while the police and other adults overlook or dismiss the whole matter. He and his friends several times solve real crimes including mysterious
theft
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
s
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
and
kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
. Lindgren wrote
shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''ste ...
for
Harry Söderman
Harry Söderman (24 August 1902 – 16 March 1956) was a Swedish police officer and criminalist. In his native Sweden, he went by the nickname "Revolver-Harry".
Söderman was a pioneer of modern criminology in Scandinavia, and the first head of ...
, a doctor in
criminology
Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...
, and it was during this work that she learned the basics of criminology that she later used in her stories.
Bill and his friends also play a game they call the Wars of the Roses. He, along with his two friends Anders and Eva-Lotta, are the White Rose, while three other kids, Sixten, Jonte and Benka, are the Red Rose. They "fight" over the possession of , an oddly-shaped stone. The group that does not have the stone must use all their wits and energy to obtain it. The group that has the stone must give the other group clues on where to find it.
Although there is a "war" between the two roses, all six of the youngsters are good friends and there is simply a playful rivalry between them. The Red Roses help the Whites when they are threatened by real dangers.
Lindgren wrote three books about Bill Bergson:
* 1946 – ''
Bill Bergson, Master Detective'' (original title: )
* 1951 – ''
Bill Bergson Lives Dangerously
''Bill Bergson Lives Dangerously'' (original Swedish title: ''Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist lever farligt'') is a 1951 Swedish novel written by Astrid Lindgren. It's the 2nd book about the Master Detective Kalle Blomkvist. In this book the Röva ...
'' (original title: )
* 1953 – ''
Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue
''Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue'' (original Swedish title ''Kalle Blomkvist och Rasmus'') is the third and last novel about the Swedish "master detective" Kalle Blomkvist, written by Astrid Lindgren.
It was published in 1953, during ...
'' (original title: )
and three theater plays:
* 1950 – (published in the book , based on the novel )
* 1955 – ''
Mästerdetektiven Kalle Blomkvist: För kasperteater två korta akter'' (published in the book by
Elsa Olenius
Elsa Viktoria Olenius (September 30, 1896 – August 25, 1984) was a Swedish librarian and writer, best remembered for pioneering children's library activities and theatre with children. She was awarded a in 1981.
In the 1940s, she founded ('th ...
, new story)
* 1968 – ''
Kalle Blomkvist, Nisse Nöjd och Vicke på Vind Astrid Lindgren’s plays are a number of theater plays written by Astrid Lindgren in the 1940s to 1970s. Part of the plays are based on her books, other stories were only written for theater. Since almost all of Astrid Lindgren's works have been st ...
'' (published in the book , new story)
English translations
Viking edition
* 1952 – ''Bill Bergson, Master Detective/''. Translated from the Swedish by Herbert Antoine; illustrated by
Louis S. Glanzman
Louis S. Glanzman (February 8, 1922 - July 7, 2013), was an American artist and book illustrator, probably best known as the illustrator of the first English language translations of the ''Pippi Longstocking'' books, in 1950.
Glanzman was born in ...
. 200 pages; illustrations; 21 cm. New York: Viking Press, 1952, 1957 reprinted in Viking Seafarer ed. 1968. LCCN: 52-12922
* 1954 – ''Bill Bergson Lives Dangerously/''. Translated from the Swedish by Herbert Antoine; illustrated by Don Freeman. 214 pages; illustrations; 21 cm. New York, Viking Press, 1954, reprinted 1965. LCCN: 54-4337
* 1965 – ''Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue/''. Translated from the Swedish by Florence Lamborn; illustrated by Don Freeman. 215 pages; illustrations; 21 cm. New York: Viking Press, 1965. LCCN: 65-13358
Oxford edition
* 2017 – ''Master Detective/''. Translated by Susan Beard. 170 pages; 20 cm. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. (paperback)
* 2017 – ''Living Dangerously/''. Translated by Susan Beard. 211 pages ; 20 cm. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017
* 2018 – ''The White Rose Rescue/''. Translated by Susan Beard. 197 pages; 20 cm. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
Films about Bill Bergson
* 1947 – ''
Bill Bergson, Master Detective''
* 1953 – ''
Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue
''Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue'' (original Swedish title ''Kalle Blomkvist och Rasmus'') is the third and last novel about the Swedish "master detective" Kalle Blomkvist, written by Astrid Lindgren.
It was published in 1953, during ...
''
* 1957 – ''
Bill Bergson Lives Dangerously
''Bill Bergson Lives Dangerously'' (original Swedish title: ''Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist lever farligt'') is a 1951 Swedish novel written by Astrid Lindgren. It's the 2nd book about the Master Detective Kalle Blomkvist. In this book the Röva ...
''
* 1966 – ''
Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist på nya äventyr
''Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist på nya äventyr'' is a 1966 Swedish film about Kalle Blomkvist, directed by Etienne Glaser and written by Astrid Lindgren. It is based on the play '' Kalle Blomkvist, Nisse Nöjd och Vicke på Vind''.
Plot
The W ...
''
* 1996 – ''
Bill Bergson Lives Dangerously
''Bill Bergson Lives Dangerously'' (original Swedish title: ''Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist lever farligt'') is a 1951 Swedish novel written by Astrid Lindgren. It's the 2nd book about the Master Detective Kalle Blomkvist. In this book the Röva ...
'' (re-make)
* 1997 – ''
Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue
''Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue'' (original Swedish title ''Kalle Blomkvist och Rasmus'') is the third and last novel about the Swedish "master detective" Kalle Blomkvist, written by Astrid Lindgren.
It was published in 1953, during ...
'' (re-make)
Legacy
The character
Mikael Blomkvist
Mikael Blomkvist is a fictional character created by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. He is a main character of Larsson's award-winning ''Millennium'' series, along with Lisbeth Salander.
Profile
Name
Larsson stated in interviews ...
in
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, starting in 2 ...
's
Millennium Trilogy
''Millennium'' is a series of best-selling and award-winning Swedish crime novels, created by journalist Stieg Larsson. The two primary characters in the saga are Lisbeth Salander, an asocial computer hacker with a photographic memory, and Mik ...
is dubbed "Kalle Blomkvist" by the press to mock him in his
investigative reporting
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...
.
Lisbeth Salander
Lisbeth Salander is a fictional character created by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson in his award-winning ''Millennium'' series. She first appeared in the 2005 novel ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'', as an asocial computer hacker ...
's name appears to be taken from Eva-Lotta Lisander, and is modeled in most other respect on Lindgren's other famous character,
Pippi Longstocking
Pippi Longstocking ( sv, Pippi Långstrump) is the fictional main character in an eponymous series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story wh ...
.
In ''
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' (original title in sv, Män som hatar kvinnor , lit=''Men Who Hate Women'') is a psychological thriller novel by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson (1954–2004). It was published posthumously in 2 ...
'', three of Lindgren's books are mentioned: ''
The Children of Noisy Village
Books by Astrid Lindgren featuring the Six Bullerby Children (in the US released as ''The Children of Noisy Village''):
* ''All About the Bullerby Children''
* ''Cherry Time at Bullerby''
* ''Six Bullerby Children''
* ''Springtime at Bullerby''
...
'', ''
Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue
''Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue'' (original Swedish title ''Kalle Blomkvist och Rasmus'') is the third and last novel about the Swedish "master detective" Kalle Blomkvist, written by Astrid Lindgren.
It was published in 1953, during ...
'' (although in the book the translation was ''Kalle Blomkvist and Rasmus'' from the original ), and ''Pippi Longstocking''.
The relation between Astrid Lindgren and, at least, the first part of the Trilogy, can be taken farther when the fact that, in it, a cat is named 'Tjorven', is considered. The name comes from the Swedish television series ''
Vi på Saltkråkan
''Vi på Saltkråkan'' (We on Salt-Crow Island) is a Swedish TV series in 13 25-minute episodes from 1964. The script for the series was written by Astrid Lindgren, who later re-wrote it as a book, also titled ''Vi på Saltkråkan'' (published ...
'' based on a script by Astrid Lindgren and not originally a book. Apart from this, the TV show dates from the early sixties, around the time when, in Stieg Larsson's novel, one of the crucial events which shapes the story takes place.
See also
*
Rövarspråket
''Rövarspråket'' ( en, The Robber Language) is a Swedish language game. It became popular after the books about Bill Bergson by Astrid Lindgren, where the children use it as a code, both at play and in solving actual crimes.
The formula for enco ...
*
Encyclopedia Brown
''Encyclopedia Brown'' is a series of books featuring the adventures of boy detective Leroy Brown, nicknamed "Encyclopedia" for his intelligence and range of knowledge. The series of 29 children's novels was written (one co-written) by Donald ...
*
The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterpa ...
*
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...
*
The Adventures of Tintin
''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergson, Bill
Astrid Lindgren characters
Fictional amateur detectives
Male characters in literature
Fictional Swedish people
Literary characters introduced in 1946
Book series introduced in 1946
Thriller film characters