It was on this date, January 22, 1849, that Swedish dramatist and novelist Johann August Strindberg was born in Stockholm. From a poor childhood and a poor showing at the University of Uppsala, Strindberg made his reputation with his first published novel, a dramatization of the excesses of Stockholm capitalism, Red Room (Röda Rummet, 1879). Strindberg’s criticisms frequently included the church. A novella called The Eward of Virtue included an unorthodox description of the Last Supper, for which Strindberg was charged with blasphemy...

To read more, go to THIS LINK.

Originally published January 2003 by Ronald Bruce Meyer.