Viktor Rydberg
Abraham Viktor Rydberg (Swedish pronunciation: [²ɑːbraˌham ˈvɪkːtɔr ²ryːdbærj]; 18 December 1828 in Jönköping – 21 September 1895 in Djursholm) was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877–1895.[1] "Primarily a clas
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Abraham Viktor Rydberg (Swedish pronunciation: [²ɑːbraˌham ˈvɪkːtɔr ²ryːdbærj]; 18 December 1828 in Jönköping – 21 September 1895 in Djursholm) was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877–1895.[1] "Primarily a classical idealist",[2] Viktor Rydberg has been described as "Sweden's last Romantic" and by 1859 was "generally regarded in the first rank of Swedish novelists.Viktor Rydberg was of humble parentage. One biographer notes that: "He had a hard struggle to satisfy the thirst for learning which was a leading passion of his life, but he finally attained distinction in several fields of scholarship."[4] The son of a soldier turned prison guard, Johann Rydberg, and a midwife, Hedvig Düker. Viktor Rydberg had two brothers and three sisters. In 1834 his mother died during a cholera epidemic. Her death broke the spirit of his father, who yielded to hypochondria and alcoholism, contributing towards his loss of employment and the family's apartment,[5] forcing authorities to board young Viktor out to a series of foster homes, one of which burnt down, further traumatizing the youth.
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