''Dreams of Roses and Fire'' () 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, it is based on the events known as the

Loudun possessions The Loudun possessions, also known as the Loudun possessed affair (), was a notorious witchcraft trial that took place in Loudun, Kingdom of France, in 1634. A convent of Ursuline nuns said they had been visited and possessed by demons. Follo ...

and the historical person

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

, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest who was

burned at the stake Death by burning is an list of execution methods, execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a puni ...

after being convicted of

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

. 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 common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

. 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, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

's decision to demolish the city walls built by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

, which some citizens including Grainier oppose. A group of

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s settles in the city and is haunted by strange dreams. Their

confessor In a number of Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution. History During the Diocletianic Persecut ...

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 folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

s and calls for an

exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person ...

. 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

as a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

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