(E. G.; J. G. R.) The Period Since 1910.—Among the more notable novelists of the present day we find on the whole more originality among the women than among the men, some of whom still reflect the in fluence of Strindberg in certain aspects of their work. Hildur Dixelius in her trilogy of three generations, Prastdottern (1920), Prastdotterns Son, Sonsonen (1922) achieved an admirable unity of feeling, essentially tragic, but tempered by the humour of real life. Elfin Wagner came to the fore with Pennskaftet, a bright and witty novel of feminist Stockholm ; she later established a more permanent reputation with Asa-Hanna (1918) and Den namnlosa (1922) which show a deep human sympathy.
The novels of Sigfrid Siwertz are studies in degeneration, marked by sure psychological insight. The most remarkable of them, Selambs (1920), Eng. trans. Downstream (1922), is a family history of the now classical Rougon-Macquart type, but concen trated in a single generation ; the workmanship is of high order, but the picture suffers somewhat from lack of relief. His later novel, Hem frdn Babylon, by drawing on the bizarre and fantastic, gives the impression of a paucity of human material. Among retrospec tive novels of Swedish life Erik Fahlman's Firman Abergson (1914) stands out as the work of a true artist. The hero is a self made provincial of the mid-19th century with all the virtues and limitations of his race and time. The texture of the book is extraordinarily light, and the subtlety with which the author has created his atmosphere is altogether admirable. K. G. Ossiannils son, who began (in a way that is almost a tradition with Swedish writers) as a lyricist, later published a number of novels of con temporary life. He is a writer of originality who has the courage of his opinions and has not shrunk from exposing himself to attack and political isolation by his frankness. His Bondlandet (1919), a novel of country life, is a good character study, clearly treated. In Fartrollningen (1924) he deals with modern hysteria.
Less clear in his method, but full of vivacity, is Ludvig Nord strom, most of whose work bears the general title Skildringar ur Svenska Nationens Lif. He is most successful in Landsorts-bo heme (1912), a thoroughly amusing satire on provincial bohe mians, with the editor of a local paper for its central figure. A later work, Doda veirldar i Samhiillsrymden (1920), is an ambi tious attempt to deal in a fantastically satirical vein with the industrial evolution of Sweden.
Hjalmar Bergman in his best work, Markurells i Wadkoping (1919), Eng. trans. God's Orchid (1924), has succeeded in blend ing together tragedy, high comedy and farce while never outraging our sense of fitness and psychological probability. This book, the action of which is concentrated into a single day in the life of a provincial town, is something of a tour de force, but at the same time a remarkably trenchant study of character. Henning Berger (1872-1925) was a realist of pessimistic outlook, whose strength lay in the delineation of the life of great cities. His best work is the Dreamland trilogy, in which he depicts with great variety of treatment the loss of illusions suffered by Swedes of the educated class in America and the brutalising effect of standardisation on the mental and moral character of the individual. Returning to Stockholm in Fata Morgana (1911), his banker hero has renounced his ideals and settled down to a comfortable epicurean view of life.
While contemporary literature affords an admirable retrospect of 19th century life and manners, the future historian will only find in it fragmentary and distorted material for a picture of the 20th. Writers in their dread of the commonplace have exaggerated the fantastic, thereby detracting from the documentary value of their work—a fault not peculiar to Sweden.