August Strindberg
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Few figures in the history of world literature are as ferociously compelling as August Strindberg — a man whose genius was inseparable from his torment. Olof Lagercrantz's landmark biography chronicles the life of the great Swedish playwright and novelist from his impoverished Stockholm childhood through his turbulent marriages, volcanic creative output, and recurring bouts of paranoia and psychological crisis, painting a portrait of an artist perpetually at war with himself and the world around him. Lagercrantz presents Strindberg not merely as a historical figure but as a living, breathing force of contradiction — a misogynist who was magnetically drawn to women, a self-proclaimed outsider who craved recognition above all else, and a visionary who transformed personal suffering into timeless dramatic art. Drawing on a vast wealth of letters, diaries, and primary sources, Lagercrantz illustrates how Strindberg's inner tumult became the engine of works such as Miss Julie, The Father, and A Dream Play, which shattered the conventions of 19th-century theatre and laid the groundwork for modern expressionism. Written with the precision of a scholar and the sensitivity of a fellow literary artist, this biography stands as one of the most authoritative and psychologically penetrating accounts of Strindberg's life ever published. For anyone who has been gripped by the raw power of Strindberg's drama, this book answers the haunting question: what manner of man could create such extraordinary darkness?
Author: Olof Lagercrantz
Format: Hardback
Published: 1984, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Genre: Biography
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Few figures in the history of world literature are as ferociously compelling as August Strindberg — a man whose genius was inseparable from his torment. Olof Lagercrantz's landmark biography chronicles the life of the great Swedish playwright and novelist from his impoverished Stockholm childhood through his turbulent marriages, volcanic creative output, and recurring bouts of paranoia and psychological crisis, painting a portrait of an artist perpetually at war with himself and the world around him. Lagercrantz presents Strindberg not merely as a historical figure but as a living, breathing force of contradiction — a misogynist who was magnetically drawn to women, a self-proclaimed outsider who craved recognition above all else, and a visionary who transformed personal suffering into timeless dramatic art. Drawing on a vast wealth of letters, diaries, and primary sources, Lagercrantz illustrates how Strindberg's inner tumult became the engine of works such as Miss Julie, The Father, and A Dream Play, which shattered the conventions of 19th-century theatre and laid the groundwork for modern expressionism. Written with the precision of a scholar and the sensitivity of a fellow literary artist, this biography stands as one of the most authoritative and psychologically penetrating accounts of Strindberg's life ever published. For anyone who has been gripped by the raw power of Strindberg's drama, this book answers the haunting question: what manner of man could create such extraordinary darkness?