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Carl Jonas Love Almqvist

Born

in Stockholm, Sweden

November 28, 1793

Died

September 26, 1866

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry

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Carl Jonas Love (Ludvig) Almqvist was a romantic poet, early feminist, realist, composer, social critic and traveller.

He was the son of the army paymaster Karl Gustav Almqvist (1768–1846). He studied in Uppsala and was then worked as a clerk in Stockholm. In 1823 he gave up his post, and in the autumn of the year after moved to Köla in northern Värmland where he and some friends, inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, intended to live out a rural idyll. It was there that he married and had two children. In 1828 he became a teacher at the experimental New Elementary School, Stockholm, and he was rector at the same from 1829 to 1841. Almqvist was ordained as pastor in 1837, but could not find work, and after publishing Det går an in 1839 gave up Carl Jonas Love (Ludvig) Almqvist was a romantic poet, early feminist, realist, composer, social critic and traveller.

He was the son of the army paymaster Karl Gustav Almqvist (1768–1846). He studied in Uppsala and was then worked as a clerk in Stockholm. In 1823 he gave up his post, and in the autumn of the year after moved to Köla in northern Värmland where he and some friends, inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, intended to live out a rural idyll. It was there that he married and had two children. In 1828 he became a teacher at the experimental New Elementary School, Stockholm, and he was rector at the same from 1829 to 1841. Almqvist was ordained as pastor in 1837, but could not find work, and after publishing Det går an in 1839 gave up that career altogether and supported himself by working for various newspapers (including Aftonbladet and Jönköpingsbladet). He was involved in controversy with August Blanche in the "Det-går-an battle"; Almqvist asserted that Blanche was of illegitimate birth, Blanche challenged Almqvist to a duel and when Almqvist paid no attention, August Blanche spat in his face at a meeting at the Strömparterren.

In June 1851 Almqvist fled Sweden on suspicion of fraud and poisoning attempts against the elderly usurer Johan Jacob von Scheven, to whom he owed 18000 riksdaler. The accusation was based on the testimony of Amanda von Brandt|Amanda Brandt among others. He arrived in the United States at the end of August and travelled widely under the name Lewis Gustawi. In Philadelphia, on the third anniversary of his departure from Stockholm, he bigamy|bigamously married a 69-year-old guest-house proprietress, Emma Nugent. In 1865 Almqvist tried to return to Sweden, but only got as far as Bremen, where he died. Carl Jonas Love Almqvist's younger half-brother, the Director-General Gustavus Fridolf Almquist (1814–1886), was the grandfather of Dag Hammarskjöld.

He wrote many books and poems. Some dealt with his radical views on society and politics; in his novel Drottningens juvelsmycke, his main character, Tintomara, is neither male nor female, and arouses both men and women to fall in love, and in his novel Det går an (It is acceptable), a woman lives with a man without being married to him. These books caused the church and state to condemn him and call him a dangerous revolutionary. However, he still maintained influence with his writings, and he is counted as one of the foremost Swedish social reformers of the 19th century. ...more

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Carl Jonas Love Almqvist’s books

Average rating: 3.23 · 3,496 ratings · 261 reviews · 122 distinct works • Similar authors

	Det går an 3.19 avg rating — 2,614 ratings — published 1839 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Drottningens juvelsmycke 3.35 avg rating — 714 ratings — published 1834 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Amorina eller Historien om de Fyra 3.31 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 1822 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Palatset by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, Bertil Bull Hedlund (Illustratör) 2.92 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 95 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Skällnora kvarn: En folklivsberättelse (Fabel Miniklassiker, #1) 3.20 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 1838 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jaktslottet by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, Bertil Romberg (Efterskrift) 2.87 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 1832	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Skrifter. Det går an ; Varför reser du? by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, Johan Svedjedal (Contributor) 3.67 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 1993 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Svenska rim: Nonsensdikter från exilåren by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, Isabella Nilsson (Urval, Efterord), Jonas Ellerström (Förord) 2.89 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2021	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Drömbilder - songes och andra dikter by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, Jonas Ellerström (Redaktör) 3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Svenska fattigdomens betydelse 2.63 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1838	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist

Törnrosens bok (4 books)
by

Carl Jonas Love Almqvist

3.32 avg rating — 745 ratings

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