Stieg Larsson's ‘Millennium Trilogy': World-Conquering Swedish Crime Stories
The story behind Swedish author Stieg Larsson's ‘Millennium Trilogy' is almost as fascinating as the best-selling books themselves.
Larsson was a left-wing Swedish journalist who established himself as one of the leading investigators into Sweden's far-right political groups. As a life-long fan of crime and detective fiction, he had reportedly been considering writing his own detective novels since the early ‘90s, and had painstakingly drawn-up plot outlines for ten novels before he even started writing in 1997.
He completed the first two books of the ‘Millennium Trilogy' and had the third nearly complete before even contacting a publisher, and was signed in 2003. He had just put the finishing touches on the trilogy, and the first book was due to be released in only a few months, when Larsson died tragically of a heart attack.
The novels went on to become massive international successes, selling 26 million copies sold worldwide and being made into a blockbuster film series that saw great success internationally. The Swedish films have also been adapted into English-language versions for the US audience, with the first, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', released in 2011. The film series is now also available on DVD and Blu Ray, with the most recent release being The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest.
‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' (which is titled ‘Men That Hate Women' in Swedish), ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire' and ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest' (‘The Castle in the Air That Blew Up' in Swedish) have become one of the most critically acclaimed – and universally popular – crime series of all time.
There are several elements to the books and films that have ensured their international popularity - the fast, addictive pacing, the interesting digressions and the overall moral themes being the most frequently referenced by fans.
The story follows Lisbeth Salander, an eccentric but brilliant young female hacker and private investigator with a photographic memory, and Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged investigative journalist with strong ethical principles (a character not unlike Larsson himself).
Salander and Blomkvist's lives become entangled when Salander begins assisting the journalist with an investigation that involves murder, sexual violence, drug trafficking and neo-Nazis.
One of the series' unique elements, the character of Lisbeth Salander, reportedly stemmed from a discussion Larsson had with colleagues in which they discussed what child characters from novels would be like as adults – many people believe that Lisbeth Salander is Larsson's imagining of a grown-up Pippi Longstocking; socially-awkward, head-strong and independent.
The series' other unique influence is that Larsson reportedly witnessed the gang rape of a girl when he was a teenager – the image haunting him and influencing his decision to write a series of books condemning sexual violence against women.
Whatever the influences are, the fact remains that the ‘Millennium Trilogy' has achieved both critical and popular acclaim as novels and films – and there are now millions of fans worldwide lamenting the fact that Larsson did not survive to complete any more stories. Isla Campbell writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
Larsson was a left-wing Swedish journalist who established himself as one of the leading investigators into Sweden's far-right political groups. As a life-long fan of crime and detective fiction, he had reportedly been considering writing his own detective novels since the early ‘90s, and had painstakingly drawn-up plot outlines for ten novels before he even started writing in 1997.
He completed the first two books of the ‘Millennium Trilogy' and had the third nearly complete before even contacting a publisher, and was signed in 2003. He had just put the finishing touches on the trilogy, and the first book was due to be released in only a few months, when Larsson died tragically of a heart attack.
The novels went on to become massive international successes, selling 26 million copies sold worldwide and being made into a blockbuster film series that saw great success internationally. The Swedish films have also been adapted into English-language versions for the US audience, with the first, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', released in 2011. The film series is now also available on DVD and Blu Ray, with the most recent release being The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest.
‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' (which is titled ‘Men That Hate Women' in Swedish), ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire' and ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest' (‘The Castle in the Air That Blew Up' in Swedish) have become one of the most critically acclaimed – and universally popular – crime series of all time.
There are several elements to the books and films that have ensured their international popularity - the fast, addictive pacing, the interesting digressions and the overall moral themes being the most frequently referenced by fans.
The story follows Lisbeth Salander, an eccentric but brilliant young female hacker and private investigator with a photographic memory, and Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged investigative journalist with strong ethical principles (a character not unlike Larsson himself).
Salander and Blomkvist's lives become entangled when Salander begins assisting the journalist with an investigation that involves murder, sexual violence, drug trafficking and neo-Nazis.
One of the series' unique elements, the character of Lisbeth Salander, reportedly stemmed from a discussion Larsson had with colleagues in which they discussed what child characters from novels would be like as adults – many people believe that Lisbeth Salander is Larsson's imagining of a grown-up Pippi Longstocking; socially-awkward, head-strong and independent.
The series' other unique influence is that Larsson reportedly witnessed the gang rape of a girl when he was a teenager – the image haunting him and influencing his decision to write a series of books condemning sexual violence against women.
Whatever the influences are, the fact remains that the ‘Millennium Trilogy' has achieved both critical and popular acclaim as novels and films – and there are now millions of fans worldwide lamenting the fact that Larsson did not survive to complete any more stories. Isla Campbell writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
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