''The Red Room'' ( sv, Röda rummet) is a

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 ...

novel by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

that was first published in 1879.Meyer, Michael. 1985. ''Strindberg: A Biography''. Oxford Lives ser. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987. . A satire of Stockholm society, it has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel. In this novel, Strindberg reflects his own experiences of living in poverty while writing this novel during February to November 1879. While receiving mixed reviews in Sweden, it was acclaimed in Denmark, where Strindberg was hailed as a genius. As a result of ''The Red Room'', Strindberg became famous throughout Scandinavia.

Edvard Brandes Carl Edvard Cohen Brandes (21 October 1847, in Copenhagen – 20 December 1931, in Copenhagen) was a Danish politician, critic and author, and the younger brother of Georg Brandes and Ernst Brandes. He had a Ph.D. in eastern philology. Biography ...

wrote that it "makes the reader want to join the fight against hypocrisy and reaction." A young idealistic civil servant, Arvid Falk, leaves the drudgery of bureaucracy to become a journalist and author. As he explores various social activities—politics, publishing, theatre, philanthropy, and business—he finds more

hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...

and political corruption than he thought possible. He takes refuge with a group of "

bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

", who meet in a red dining room in Berns Salonger to discuss these matters. An English translation by Ellie Schleussner, translator of several other works by Strindberg, was published in 1913 in London and is now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

. There is also a 2009 translation by

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series '' Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 (original) and from 1988 to ...

. American literary critic John Albert Macy (husband of

Anne Sullivan Anne Sullivan Macy (born as Johanna Mansfield Sullivan; April 14, 1866 – October 20, 1936) was an American teacher best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller.Herrmann, Dorothy. ''Helen Keller: A Life'', Alfred ...

) wrote in his ''The Critical Game'' (published in 1922):

Adaptations

The novel was adapted into a comic book by Per Demervall.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Red Room, The 1879 Swedish novels Novels by August Strindberg Roman à clef novels Novels set in Stockholm Swedish-language novels Swedish satirical novels Novels adapted into comics