Olle Hedberg

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Olle Hedberg
Olle Hedberg in 1957.
Olle Hedberg in 1957.
BornCarl Olof Hedberg
(1899-05-31)31 May 1899
Norrköping, Sweden
Died20 September 1974(1974-09-20) (aged 75)
Verveln, Sweden
LanguageSwedish
NationalitySwedish
Notable worksIris och löjtnantshjärta
Ut med blondinerna!
Bekänna färg
SpouseRuth Hedberg

Carl Olof "Olle" Hedberg (31 May 1899, Norrköping, Sweden – 20 September 1974, Verveln, Östergötland, Sweden) was a Swedish author.

Hedberg is known as a probing satirist of the middle class and conventional world in general. His first novel, Rymmare och fasttagare (Prisoner's base), was published in 1930, and from then on would write a novel every year for the next several decades. His works of the 1940s entail a search for religious and moral values.[1] Bekänna färg (Show one’s hand), published in 1947, is considered to be one of his most important novels from this period.

His works do not aspire to a philosophical greatness. Rather he himself is more of a realist and a disenchanted moralist.[2] He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1957.

Hedberg committed suicide 1974, a few weeks after his daughter Birgitta succumbed to a sudden illness.[3]

Selected bibliography[edit]

  • Prisoner's Base (Swedish: Rymmare och fasttagare, 1930) (English translation 1932)
  • Iris och löjtnantshjärta (1934)
  • Ut med blondinerna! (1939)
  • Stopp! Tänk på något annat (1939)
  • Bekänna färg (1947)
  • Animals in Cages (Swedish: Djur i bur, 1959) (English translation 1962)

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ (April 1, 1995). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster. ISBN 0-87779-042-6. Page 528.
  2. ^ Seymour-Smith, Martin (1973). Funk & Wagnalls Guide to Modern World Literature. Funk & Wagnalls. ISBN 0-308-10079-4. Page 1025.
  3. ^ "Olle Hedberg". Bonnierförlagen. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
Cultural offices
Preceded by Swedish Academy,
Seat No 6

1957–74
Succeeded by