Hjalmar Fredrik Elgérus Bergman (19 September 1883 in

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

, Sweden – 1 January 1931 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) was a Swedish writer and playwright.

Biography

The son of a banker in

, Bergman briefly studied philosophy at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

but soon broke off his studies and took up the life of a free writer. He married Stina Lindberg, the daughter of actor and stage producer

August Lindberg August Lindberg (6 September 1885, Älvkarleby, Uppsala County – 15 July 1966, Stockholm) was a Sweden, Swedish trade union organizer. He was a sawmill worker by profession, and belonged to the Swedish Saw Mill Industry Workers Union (Swedish l ...

and Augusta Lindberg, and sister of

Per Lindberg Per Lindberg (5 March 1890 – 7 February 1944) was a Swedish theatre and film director. Biography Lindberg was born in Stockholm as the son of the actress Augusta Lindberg and the actor, theater director and manager August Lindberg. His sister ...

. Up to his father's death in 1915 Bergman was heavily sponsored by the family patriarch; after the old man died from a stroke it turned out that the family business had become highly indebted and Bergman was forced to start making money out of his writing and court readers in a more outgoing and more entertaining manner. He rose to the challenge and in the following ten years reached the peak of his work. Much of his output takes place in a small town in mid-Sweden, which is growing into a parallel universe in a Balzacian manner. The shameful secrets of a dozen of interwoven families gradually come out of the closet as the stories grow increasingly symbolic. A pessimistic outlook is always counterbalanced by a grotesque humour - indeed, in a book like ''Markurells i Wadköping'' the latter almost succeeds in completely shading the former. The fictional town Wadköping is modelled on the author's hometown

, and on

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

, where he finished secondary school, there is for instance, like in Västerås, a bishop in Wadköping, but none in Örebro. When Örebro in 1965 opened its open-air museum featuring 19th century city life, it was named Wadköping. After an unsuccessful bout as a manuscript writer in Hollywood, Bergman's alcoholism and narcotics abuse took over, from which he died prematurely; his final novel ''Clownen Jac'' mirrors his awareness of his drift into self-destruction as well as his belief in the honesty and purpose of artistic spectacle.

Works

* ''Maria, Jesu moder'' (1905) (literal translation: ''Maria, Mother of Jesus'') * ''Solivro. Prins af Aeretanien'' (1906) * ''Blå blommor'' (1907) * ''Savonarola'' (1909) * ''Amourer'' (1910) * ''Hans Nåds testamente'' (1910, ''His Grace's Will'' or ''The Baron's Will'', adapted into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

in 1919) * ''Vi Bookar, Krokar och Rothar'' (1912) * ''Loewenhistorier'' (1913) * ''Komedier i Bergslagen, I - III '' (1914 - 1916) * ''Mor i Sutre'' (1917) * ''Marionettspel'' (1917) (''Marionette Plays'', includes '' Mr Sleeman Is Coming'') * ''En döds memoarer'' (1918, English translation ''Memoirs of a Dead Man'', trans. Neil Smith, 2007) * ''Markurells i Wadköping'' (1919, ''God's Orchid''. Literal translation: ''The Markurells in Wadköping'') * ''Herr von Hancken'' (1920) * ''Farmor och vår Herre'' (1921, ''Thy Rod and Thy Staff''. Literal translation: ''Grandmother and Our Lord'') * ''Eros begravning'' (1922) * ''Swedenhielms'', 1923 (play adapted into a film of the same name in 1935, and again in 1943 as ''Ein glücklicher Mensch'') * ''Jag, Ljung och Medardus'' (1923) * ''Chefen Fru Ingeborg'' (1924, English translation ''The Head of the Firm'',

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It became one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and established an Australian ...

, 1936) * ''Flickan i Frack'' (1925) * ''Jonas och Helen'' (1926) * ''Kerrmans i Paradiset'' (1927) * ''Lotten Brenners ferier'' (1928) * ''Clownen Jac'' (1930, ''Jac The Clown'')

Adaptations

* ''Hans Nåds Testamente, Markurells i Wadköping'' (1929, radio and stage versions) * ''Fathers and Sons'' (1930, German film script with Paul Merzbach, after Markurells i Wadköping) * ''Markurells i Wadköping'' (1931, Swedish film script with Paul Merzbach, after Markurells i Wadköping)

As Holger Brate

* ''Falska papper'' (1916)

Selected filmography

* ''

Anna-Clara and Her Brothers ''Anna-Clara and Her Brothers'' (Swedish: ''Anna-Clara och hennes bröder'') is a 1923 Swedish silent drama film directed by Per Lindberg and starring Ann Britt Ohlson, Carl Browallius, Hilda Borgström and Linnéa Hillberg.Qvist & Von Bagh p.5 ...

'' (1923) * ''

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

'' (1925) * ''

Kalle Utter ''Kalle Utter'' is a 1925 Swedish silent historical drama film directed by Karin Swanström and starring Anders de Wahl, Georg Blomstedt and John Ekman.Qvist & Von Bagh p.142 Cast * Anders de Wahl as Kalle Utter * Georg Blomstedt as Kalle' ...

'' (1925) * '' The Flying Dutchman'' (1925) * '' A Perfect Gentleman'' (1927)

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergman, Hjalmar 1883 births 1931 deaths People from Örebro Swedish-language writers Writers from Örebro County Swedish male novelists Swedish male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Swedish novelists 20th-century Swedish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Swedish male writers