11 questions · Literature
Stieg Larsson, born in 1954 in Skelleftehamn in northern Sweden, became one of the best-selling authors in the world and never lived to see it. In his lifetime he was not a novelist but a journalist: for decades he worked for the Swedish news agency TT and was regarded as one of the country’s foremost experts on right-wing extremism. In 1995 he co-founded the anti-fascist magazine “Expo”, which campaigned against racism and far-right violence: a fight that later runs through his novels. Only late in life, almost as a counterweight, Larsson began writing a crime series at night: the “Millennium” trilogy, named after the investigative magazine his heroes work for. At its heart are two unforgettable characters: the fiercely independent hacker Lisbeth Salander, with a photographic memory and a dragon tattoo, and the dogged investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist. The first volume is known in English as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (original title “Men Who Hate Women”), followed by “The Girl Who Played with Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest”. The tragedy: Larsson died in Stockholm on 9 November 2004, aged just fifty, of a heart attack: a year before the first novel appeared. Posthumously the books became a global phenomenon, selling more than a hundred million copies. Hollywood filmed the opener in 2011, directed by David Fincher with Rooney Mara as Salander; a Swedish version with Noomi Rapace had already caused a sensation in 2009. Did you know that Larsson deliberately spelled his first name “Stieg” rather than “Stig”? He wanted to distinguish himself from a writer friend of the same name: a small detail now printed on book spines the world over.
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Crime novel
Larsson combined gripping crime plots with sharp criticism of violence against women and of right-wing extremism.
💡 Did you know? His books are a prime example of “Nordic noir”, the Scandinavian crime novel.
the Millennium trilogy
It is named after the fictional investigative magazine “Millennium”, where the main characters work.
💡 Did you know? The three volumes have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is asked to solve the decades-old disappearance of a young woman and meets Lisbeth Salander.
💡 Did you know? The German title is “Verblendung”.
Lisbeth Salander
The fiercely independent, brilliant hacker with the dragon tattoo became the cult figure of the series.
💡 Did you know? In the Swedish films Noomi Rapace played the role, in Hollywood Rooney Mara.
Mikael Blomkvist
The investigative journalist of the magazine “Millennium” is seen as a partial alter ego of the author.
💡 Did you know? Like Larsson himself, Blomkvist uses research to fight the powerful and the criminal.
journalist
He worked for years at the news agency TT and was regarded as an expert on right-wing extremism.
💡 Did you know? He wrote his novels only at night, alongside his job.
Expo
In it he fought racism and far-right violence: a theme that also shapes his novels.
💡 Did you know? The investigative magazine “Millennium” in the novels is modelled on Expo.
after his death
Larsson delivered the manuscripts shortly before he died and never saw their global success.
💡 Did you know? The first volume appeared in 2005, a year after his death.
Sweden
The novels are set in Stockholm and the Swedish countryside.
💡 Did you know? Larsson belongs to the wave of “Nordic noir”, Scandinavian crime fiction.
David Fincher
Rooney Mara played Lisbeth Salander, Daniel Craig the journalist Blomkvist.
💡 Did you know? A Swedish film with Noomi Rapace had already appeared in 2009.
a heart attack
He died on 9 November 2004 in Stockholm: a year before the first novel appeared.
💡 Did you know? Later the author David Lagercrantz continued the series with further volumes.
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