Swedish History

Beginning in prehistoric times and culminating with the Dacke rebellion of 1542, renowned novelist Vilhelm Moberg's two-volume popular history of the Swedish people approaches its subject from the viewpoint of the common people, documenting peasants' lives as well as those of the royal families. In this first volume Moberg examines Viking raids, the coming of Christianity, and the Folkungs royal dynasty, whose tyrannical reign lasted from 1250 to the 1360s. He vividly describes the arrival of the Black Death from a ship that docked carrying only dead passengers, and he recounts the reign of Queen Margareta who founded the Kalmar Union, comprising all of Scandinavia. In every chapter, Moberg faithfully imparts how history affected "the whole people" of Sweden.

In the second volume of his vivid history of the Swedes, Vilhelm Moberg brings his focus on the common people to bear on a period that included two dramatic revolts: the national insurrection under Engelbrekt and the last desperate attempt of the Smaland peasantry to retain their medieval liberties - a defiance bloodily crushed by King Gustav Vasa. Using a wide variety of local historical source materials, Moberg studies the ruthless monarch Vasa and his two tragic opponents: the psychopathic Christian II of Denmark and Nils Dracke, the leader of the Smalanders. Furthermore, he examines the enigmatic and wide appeal of the Swedish forest and investigates the origins of the Swedish hatred of Danes, which was implanted by propaganda through songs commissioned by Karl VIII's chancellery. Moberg's history has been widely hailed by the Swedish press as a masterpiece of popular history writing and has been an all-time best-seller in Swedish bookstores.

This volume traces Swedish literature from its beginnings in the Middle Ages to its honored place in world literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.



A comprehensive reference work, A History of Swedish Literature provides much more than names and dates. Sweden’s relative isolation in a remote corner of Europe put special stress on its language and literature to define national identity. In this volume nine scholars from Europe and America identify what is particular about Swedish literary culture as well as what makes it an integral part of European literature.



The volume views Swedish literature in its historical and social context and reflects on the concerns of each age. Although women authors are treated throughout the book, a chapter on women’s literature provides a salutary view of the gender issue in Swedish literature and the development of a feminist awareness. An additional chapter discusses children’s literature, a major Swedish cultural export.