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Swedish Literature
Swedish literature () refers to literature written in the Swedish language or by writers from Sweden. The first literary text from Sweden is the Rök runestone, carved during the Viking Age circa 800 AD. With the conversion of the land to Christianity around 1100 AD, Sweden entered the Middle Ages, during which monastic writers preferred to use Latin. Therefore, there are only a few texts in the Old Swedish from that period. Swedish literature only flourished after the Swedish literary language was developed in the 16th century, which was largely due to the full translation of the Christian Bible into Swedish in 1541. This translation is the so-called Gustav Vasa Bible. With improved education and the freedom brought by secularisation, the 17th century saw several notable authors develop the Swedish language further. Some key figures include Georg Stiernhielm (17th century), who was the first to write classical poetry in Swedish; Johan Henric Kellgren (18th century), the first t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swedish Language
Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic countries overall. Swedish, like the other Nordic languages, is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, although the degree of mutual intelligibility is largely dependent on the dialect and accent of the speaker. Written Norwegian and Danish are usually more easily understood by Swedish speakers than the spoken languages, due to the differences in tone, accent, and intonation. Standard Swedish, spoken by most Swedes, is the national language that evolved from the Central Swedish dialects in the 19th century and was well established by the beginning of the 20th century. While distinct regional varieties ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swedish Realism
Swedish realism is the period in Swedish literature that encompassed the last two decades of the 19th century. It is generally considered to have ended in the 1910s but the exact year is a matter of debate. August Strindberg August Strindberg (1849-1912) was a writer world-famous for his dramas and prose, noted for his exceptional talent and complex intellect.Algulin pp.115-132Gustafson, pp.238-257 In 1879 he published '' The Red Room'' (''Röda Rummet''), which brought him immediate fame. ''The Red Room'' was a satirical novel that relentlessly attacked the political, the academic, the philosophical and the religious worlds.Algulin pp.115-132Gustafson, pp.238-257 After several harsh disputes, Strindberg left Sweden in 1883. In 1884, he briefly returned to Stockholm to stand trial in a blasphemy case against his collection of short stories ''Married'' (''Giftas''). He was acquitted, but the trial sparked a psychological turmoil that lasted for some 10 years, during which he wrote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 2005, after he died of a sudden heart attack. The trilogy was adapted as three motion pictures in Sweden, and one in the U.S. (for the first book only). The publisher commissioned David Lagercrantz to expand the trilogy into a longer series, which has six novels . For much of his life, Larsson lived and worked in Stockholm. His journalistic work covered socialist politics and he acted as an independent researcher of right-wing extremism. He was the second-best-selling fiction author in the world for 2008, owing to the success of the English translation of ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'', behind the Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini. The third and final novel in the ''Millennium'' trilogy, '' The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest'', became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Guillou
Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou (, ; born 17 January 1944) is a French-Swedish author and journalist. Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist, most notably in 1973 when he and co-reporter Peter Bratt exposed a secret and illegal intelligence organization in Sweden, '' Informationsbyrån'' (IB). He is still active within journalism as a column writer for the Swedish evening tabloid ''Aftonbladet''. Among his books are a series of spy fiction novels about a spy named Carl Hamilton, and a trilogy(+) of historical fiction novels about a Knight Templar, Arn Magnusson. He is the owner of one of the largest publishing companies in Sweden, Piratförlaget (''Pirate Publishing''), together with his wife, publisher Ann-Marie Skarp, and Liza Marklund. Life and career Guillou was born in Södertälje, Stockholm County, Sweden. His Breton-Swedish father Charles Guillou (1922–2020) came to Sweden, as the son of a member of the French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spy Fiction
Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies. It was given new impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the lead-up to World War II, continued to develop during the Cold War, and received a fresh impetus from the emergence of rogue states, international criminal organizations, global terrorist networks, maritime piracy and technological sabotage and espionage as potent threats to Western societies. As a genre, spy fiction is thematically related to the novel of adventure (''The Prisoner of Zenda'', 1894, ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'', 1905), the thriller (such as the works of Edgar Wallace) and the politico-military thriller (''The Schirmer Inheritance'', 1953, ''The Quiet American'', 1955). History Commentator William Bendler noted that "Chapter 2 of the He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henning Mankell
Henning Georg Mankell (; 3February 19485October 2015) was a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He also wrote a number of plays and screenplays for television. He was a left-wing social critic and activist. In his books and plays he constantly highlighted social inequality issues and injustices in Sweden and abroad. In 2010, Mankell was on board one of the ships in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that was boarded by Israeli commandos. He was below deck on the MV Mavi Marmara when nine civilians were killed in international waters. Mankell shared his time between Sweden and countries in Africa, mostly Mozambique where he started a theatre. He made considerable donations to charity organizations, mostly connected to Africa. Life and career Mankell's grandfather, also named Henning Mankell, lived from 1868 to 1930 and was a composer. Mankell was born in Stockholm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Per Wahlöö
Per Fredrik Wahlöö (5 August 1926 – 22 June 1975) – in English translations often identified as Peter Wahloo – was a Swedish author. He is perhaps best known for the collaborative work with his partner Maj Sjöwall on a series of ten novels about the exploits of Martin Beck, a police detective in Stockholm, published between 1965 and 1975. In 1971, '' The Laughing Policeman'' (a translation of ''Den skrattande polisen'', originally published in 1968) won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel. Wahlöö and Sjöwall also wrote novels separately. Wahlöö was born in Tölö parish, Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland. Following school, he worked as a crime reporter from 1946 onwards. After long trips around the world he returned to Sweden and started working as a journalist again. He had a thirteen-year relationship with Sjöwall but they never married, as he already was married. Both were Marxists. Biography Wahlöö's career in journalism st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maj Sjöwall
Maj Sjöwall (; 25 September 1935 – 29 April 2020) was a Swedish author and translator. She is best known for her books about police detective Martin Beck. She wrote the books in collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö. Biography Maj Sjöwall was the daughter of Margit Trobäck and CEO Will Sjöwall. After completing school Sjöwall was employed at Åhlén & Åkerlunds publishers between 1954 and 1959, Wahlström & Widstrands publishers between 1959 and 1961 and then Esselte publishers between 1961 and 1963. Sjöwall was best known for the collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö on a series of ten novels about the exploits of Martin Beck, a police detective in Stockholm. They also wrote several novels separately. In 1971, the fourth of the Beck books, '' The Laughing Policeman'' (a translation of ''Den skrattande polisen'', originally published in 1968) won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel; the book was also adapted into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Emigrants (novels)
''The Emigrants'' is the collective name of a series of four novels by the Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg: *'' The Emigrants'' (Swedish: ''Utvandrarna''), 1949 *''Unto a Good Land'' (title in Swedish: ''Invandrarna'' 'The Immigrants'), 1952 *''The Settlers'' (Swedish: ''Nybyggarna''), 1956 *''The Last Letter Home'' (title in Swedish: ''Sista brevet till Sverige'' 'The Last Letter to Sweden'), 1959 All the books have been translated into English. The novels are generally considered to be among the best pieces of Swedish literature. Plot The novel-series describes the long and strenuous journey for a party of emigrants from the province of Småland, Sweden, to the United States in 1850, coinciding with the beginning of the first significant wave of immigration to the United States from Sweden. The story focuses primarily on Karl Oskar Nilsson and his wife, Kristina Johansdotter, a young married couple who live with their four small children; Anna, Johan, Lill-Märta, and Harald, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vilhelm Moberg
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his series ''The Emigrants''. The four books, published between 1949 and 1959, deal with the Swedish emigration to the United States in the 19th century, and are the subject of two movie adaptations and a musical. Among other works are '' Raskens'' (1927) and '' Ride This Night'' (1941), a historical novel of a 17th-century rebellion in Småland acknowledged for its subliminal but widely recognised criticism of the Hitler regime. A prominent public intellectual and debater in Sweden, he was recognized for his vocal criticism of the Swedish monarchy (most notably after the Haijby affair), describing it as a servile government by divine mandate, and publicly supporting its replacement with a Swiss-style confederal republic. He spoke out aggressively against the policies of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pär Lagerkvist
Pär Fabian Lagerkvist (23 May 1891 – 11 July 1974) was a Swedish author who received the 1951 Nobel Prize in Literature. Lagerkvist wrote poetry, plays, novels, short stories, and essays of considerable expressive power and influence from his early 20s to his late 70s. One of his central themes was the fundamental question of good and evil, which he examined through such figures as Barabbas, the man who was freed instead of Jesus, and Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew. As a moralist, he used religious motifs and figures from the Christian tradition without following the doctrines of a church. Biography and works Lagerkvist was born in Växjö ( Småland). He received a traditional religious education – he would later say, with little exaggeration, that he "had had the good fortune to grow up in a home where the only books known were the Bible and the Book of Hymns". In his teens he broke away from Christian beliefs, but, unlike many other writers and thinkers in his generation, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobel Prize In Literature
) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , reward = 10 million SEK (2022) , website = , year2 = 2022 , holder_label = Currently held by , previous = 2021 , main = 2022 , next = 2023 The Nobel Prize in Literature (here meaning ''for'' literature) is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction" (original Swedish: ''den som inom litteraturen har producerat det utmärktaste i idealisk rigtning''). Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
