The Red Room

The Red Roomá(Swedish:áRöda rummet) is aáSwedishánovel byáAugust Strindbergáthat was first published in 1879.áA satire of Stockholm society, it has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel.áIn this novel Strindberg reflects his own experiences of living in poverty while writing this novel during February to November 1879. While receiving mixed reviews in Sweden, it was acclaimed in Denmark, where Strindberg was hailed as a genius.áAs a result ofáThe Red Room, Strindberg became famous throughout Scandinavia. Edvard Brandesáwrote that it makes the reader want to join the fight against hypocrisy and reaction.A young idealistic civil servant, Arvid Falk, leaves the drudgery of bureaucracy to become a journalist and author. As he explores various social activities&mdash,politics, publishing, theatre, philanthropy, and business&mdash,he finds moreáhypocrisyáand political corruption than he thought possible. He takes refuge with a group of bohemians, who meet in a red dining room ináBerns Salongeráto discuss these matters.The novel has been translated into several languages. An English translation by Ellie Schleussner, translator of several other works by Strindberg, was published in 1913 in London and is now in theápublic domain.á