Martin Fredrik Böök (May 12, 1883 in

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

– December 2, 1961 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

) was a Swedish professor of literary history at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

, literary critic and writer. He wrote biographies and books on Swedish literature.An extensive bibliography with Swedish titles is found in the

Swedish Wikipedia The Swedish Wikipedia () is the Swedish language, Swedish-language edition of Wikipedia, started in 2001. A free content online encyclopedia, it is the largest reference work in Swedish history, while consistently ranked as the most visited or on ...

Biography

Fredrik Böök became a philosophy graduate at

in 1903, a philosophy licentiate and an associate professor of literary history in 1907 and a philosophy doctor in 1908. In 1920 he became professor of literary history at Lund University. Alongside Henrik Schück, Böök was for decades the most influential (and feared) Swedish literature scholar and critic. He reviewed books for the newspaper ''

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...

'', succeeding

Oscar Levertin Oscar Ivar Levertin (17 July 1862, Norrköping – 22 September 1906) was a Swedish poet, critic and literary historian. Levertin was a dominant voice of the Swedish cultural scene from 1897, when he started writing influential high-profile essay ...

. In 1922 he became a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

, seat 10. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Böök actively supported the cause of Germany as a belligerent power. After the war he lost his dominating role in the literary field. His biography was written in 1994 by Svante Nordin.

Personal life

In 1907, Fredrik Böök married Tora Olsson. Their son

Klas Böök Klas Erik Böök (10 March 1909 – 5 January 1980) was a Swedish diplomat and public servant who served as Governor of the Swedish National Bank from 1948 to 1951 and was Swedish ambassador in various countries between 1951 and 1972. Early life ...

(1909–1980) became head of the

Bank of Sweden Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the Riksbank, is the central bank of Sweden. Founded in 1668, it is the world's oldest surviving central bank, and the third oldest bank in continuous operation. Prior to World War I, it was also the only state- ...

and later an ambassador.

Works translated into English

Source: *''

Verner von Heidenstam Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam (6 July 1859 – 20 May 1940) was a Swedish poet, novelist and laureate of the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912. His poems and prose work are filled with a great j ...

, author of "The Charles men"'' (1920) *''Sweden of today : a survey of its intellectual and material culture'', edited by Magnus Blomstedt & Fredrik Böök (1930) *''An eyewitness in Germany'', translated from the Swedish by Elizabeth Sprigge and Claude Napier (1933) *''

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

: a biography'', translated from the Swedish by George C. Schoolfield (1962)

References

1883 births 1961 deaths People from Kristianstad Members of the Swedish Academy Swedish literature Swedish Nazis 20th-century Swedish literature Academic staff of Lund University Lund University alumni {{Sweden-academic-bio-stub