The Inferno
including THE ECCENTRICITY OF AUGUST STRINDBERG by Otto Heller
Published on 19. June 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
158 pages
979-10-299-1848-3 (ISBN)
Description
"I am surrounded by silence and loneliness. It is the solemn and terrible silence of the desert in which I defiantly challenge the unknown, in order to wrestle with him, body with body, and soul with soul." - A. Strindberg
Published in 1897, The Inferno is not a conventional novel. Blending autobiography, fiction and psychological exploration, the book documents Strindberg's descent into paranoia, alchemical obsession, and spiritual confusion during a period of isolation in Paris. Considered a forerunner of modern psychological literature, this intense autobiographical work gives readers an intimate look at the tormented psyche of a genius, navigating between madness and mysticism.
This new edition is enhanced by an insightful biographical and critical essay on August Strindberg, authored by Otto Heller, Professor of Modern European Literature at Washington University.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
240 gr
ISBN-13
979-10-299-1848-3 (9791029918483)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Johan August Strindberg (1849 - 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography, history, cultural analysis and politics. A bold experimenter and iconoclast throughout, he explored a wide range of dramatic methods and purposes, from naturalistic tragedy, monodrama and history plays, to his anticipations of expressionist and surrealist dramatic techniques. From his earliest work, Strindberg developed innovative forms of dramatic action, language and visual composition. He is considered the "father" of modern Swedish literature and his The Red Room (1879) has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel.