Johannes Linnankoski (originally Vihtori Johan Peltonen, 18 October 1869 – 10 August 1913) was a Finnish author and playwright, who mainly influenced writing in the Golden Age of Finnish Art. His most famous work is the romance novel, ''

The Song of the Blood-Red Flower ''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'' () is a romance novel by Finnish writer Johannes Linnankoski, published in 1905; and is considered the author's most famous and personal work. Loosely based on the legend of Don Juan, it tells the story of a ...

'' (1905). His primary themes were guilt, punishment, and redemption as moral questions.

Life

Linnankoski was born in Vakkola,

Askola Askola () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Monninkylä is the largest village of the municipality ...

and was active in the cultural life of Eastern Uusimaa. He was one of the founders of the bank in

Porvoo Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...

and also founded Finnish-language schools and daily newspapers such as ''

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

'', the first Finnish-language newspaper situated outside of the major towns of Uusimaa. Linnankoski married Ester Drugg in 1899 and they had four children: Marjatta, Salama, Touko and Urmas. All his children were born under the surname Peltonen.Linnankosken syntymästä kulunut 130 vuotta
(in Finnish) In his last years he moved from Askola to the Helsinki Deaconess Institute, in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, for treatment of his poor health, and died there of

anemia Anemia (also spelt anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen. This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin availabl ...

at the age of 43 in 1913. In 1938 a Linnankoski Museum was opened near the

sauna A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...

building where Linnankoski was supposedly born.

Film adaptations

His books have been made into numerous major feature films with the most famous and notorious being '' The Milkmaid'' (directed by T. J. Särkkä) and '' Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta'' (directed by Mikko Niskanen). ''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'' has also been filmed in Sweden, in three different versions by directors

Mauritz Stiller Mauritz Stiller (born Moshe Stiller, 17 July 1883 – 8 November 1928) was a Finnish film director of Jewish origin, best known for discovering Greta Garbo and bringing her to America. Stiller was a pioneer of the Swedish film industry, writing ...

, Per-Axel Branner and

Gustaf Molander Gustaf Harald August Molander (18 November 1888 – 19 June 1973) was a Swedish actor and film director. His parents were director Harald Molander, Sr. (1858–1900) and singer and actress Lydia Molander, ''née'' Wessler, and his brother was t ...

Bibliography

* ''

'' (''Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta'', 1905) * '' The Fugitives'' (''Pakolaiset'', 1908) * ''Kootut teokset''

References

External links

* * * 1869 births 1913 deaths People from Askola Writers from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Fennomans Finnish-language writers {{Finland-writer-stub