Strindberg: A Life

In this exhaustively researched and beautifully produced biography, Prideaux (Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream) tackles the peripatetic and tumultuous life of August Strindberg, the famously difficult 19th-century Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, photographer, and painter. Prideaux shows a clear fondness for her subject, portraying him as a deeply earnest and vulnerable man, and an almost comically tireless seeker after great truths%E2%80%94whether of literature, science, or the occult. Though Prideaux occasionally glosses over some of Strindberg's nastier prejudices, including his misogyny and anti-Semitism, her efforts to balance the more incendiary elements of a complex and fallible man serve her intention of making Strindberg a more "approachable" figure. By discussing the conservatism of Strindberg's Sweden and the new philosophies of consciousness and evolution swirling through Europe, Prideaux does an excellent job of locating Strindberg in his period%E2%80%94she convincingly sets Strindberg's work at the leading edge of modernism, and demonstrates the ways in which his own life and inner machinations were his most important sources of intellectual and artistic inspiration. A must-read for fans of Strindberg, Prideaux's tome is substantial and interesting enough to please anyone looking for a great bio. Includes an index, bibliography, chronology, notes, and numerous illustrations and photos. (June)