This volume traces Swedish literature from its beginnings in the Middle Ages to its honored place in world literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

A comprehensive reference work, A History of Swedish Literature provides much more than names and dates. Sweden s relative isolation in a remote corner of Europe put special stress on its language and literature to define national identity. In this volume nine scholars from Europe and America identify what is particular about Swedish literary culture as well as what makes it an integral part of European literature.

The...