The Century's Most Significant Swedish Books

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

The TV program Röda Rummet (SVT), 100 Books

The TV program Röda Rummet (SVT) held a poll in the spring of 1998 to determine which books are the most significant Swedish books of the century. Approximately 17,000 viewers participated in the voting, and half of the votes went to the top twenty books on the list, which includes a hundred titles. The list, which was not previously available online, has been published by TT/Swedish newspapers.

This list was originally published in 1998 and was added to this site almost 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
1670 The Emigrants Vilhelm Moberg 1949 Swedish Swedish
2148 Aniara Harry Martinson 1956 Swedish Swedish
1753 The Long Ships Frans G. Bengtsson 1941 Swedish Swedish
267 Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren 1945 Swedish Swedish
2306 Stockholm series Per Anders Fogelström 1960 Swedish Swedish
1250 The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Selma Lagerlöf 1906 Swedish Swedish
1770 The Emperor of Portugallia Selma Lagerlöf 1914 Swedish Swedish
1761 The Serious Game Hjalmar Soderberg 1912 Swedish Swedish
2742 Jerusalem Selma Lagerlöf 1901 Swedish Swedish
1298 The Days of His Grace Eyvind Johnson 1960 Swedish Swedish
7587 A Time On Earth Vilhelm Moberg 1963 Swedish Swedish
1113 The Christmas Oratorio Göran Tunström 1983 Swedish Swedish
2047 The Brothers Lionheart Astrid Lindgren 1973 Swedish Swedish
6399 Return To Ithaca Eyvind Johnson 1946 Swedish Swedish
1777 Flowering Nettle Harry Martinson 1935 Swedish Swedish
1773 Doctor Glas Hjalmar Soderberg 1905 Swedish Swedish
9930 The Bert Diaries Anders Jacobsson, Sören Olsson 1987 Swedish Swedish
1905 The Road to Klockrike Harry Martinson 1948 Swedish Swedish
2388 Emil I Lönneberga Astrid Lindgren 1963 Swedish Swedish
6546 Ride This Night Vilhelm Moberg 1941 Swedish Swedish
9772 Blackwater Kerstin Ekman 1993 Swedish Swedish
6409 My Mother Gets Married Moa Martinson 1936 Swedish Swedish
6585 Kvartetten Som Sprängdes Birger Sjöberg 1924 Swedish Swedish
14049 Efter Tusen år Av Tystnad Birgitta Onsell 1990 Swedish Swedish
11334 Molnfri Bombnatt Vibeke Olsson 1995 Swedish Swedish
11021 The Story Of San Michele Axel Munthe 1929 Swedish English
10180 Den Som Vandrar Om Natten Marianne Fredriksson 1988 Swedish Swedish
1088 The Dwarf Par Lagerkvist 1944 Swedish Swedish
11042 Sörgården Anna-Maria Roos 1912 Swedish Swedish
8590 Jack Ulf Lundell 1976 Swedish Swedish
11056 The Hammer Of God Bo Giertz 1941 Swedish Swedish
13254 Jernbane Eposet Sara Lidman 1977 Swedish Swedish
6614 Lars Hård Jan Fridegård 1935 Swedish Swedish
603 Barabbas Par Lagerkvist 1950 Swedish Swedish
1964 The Löwensköld Ring Selma Lagerlöf 1925 Swedish Swedish
9679 Who Loves Yngve Frey? Stig Claesson 1983 Swedish Swedish
13002 Samuel August From Sevedstorp And Hanna From Hult Astrid Lindgren 1975 Swedish Swedish
11617 Utvald Att Leva Jerzy Einhorn 1996 Swedish Swedish
11620 Collected Poems Gunnar Ekelöf 1960 Swedish Swedish
11326 Natt I Marknadstältet Lars Ahlin 1953 Swedish Swedish
6656 Guest Of Reality Par Lagerkvist 1925 Swedish Swedish
11424 Din Livsfrukt Lars Ahlin 1955 Swedish Swedish
6429 The Dog Kerstin Ekman 1986 Swedish Swedish
11167 Krilon Eyvind Johnson 1941 Swedish Swedish
1802 Kallocain Karin Boye 1940 Swedish Swedish
4467 Samuels bok Sven Delblanc 1981 Swedish Swedish
2222 Simon and the Oaks Marianne Fredriksson 1985 Swedish Swedish
6634 Land Of Wooden Gods Jan Fridegård 1932 Swedish Swedish
11187 The Loväng Series Sven Edvin Salje 1942 Swedish Swedish
6689 Romanen Om Olof Eyvind Johnson 1934 Swedish Swedish
14479 Lifsens Rot Sara Lidman 1996 Swedish Swedish
2098 Mio, My Son Astrid Lindgren 1954 Swedish Swedish
11198 Får Jag Lämna Några Blommor Nils Ferlin 1933 Swedish Swedish
10528 Sweetness Torgny Lindgren 1995 Swedish Swedish
10439 The Forest Of Hours Kerstin Ekman 1988 Swedish Swedish
7136 Chronicler Of The Winds Henning Mankell 1995 Swedish Swedish
11207 Soldier With A Broken Rifle Vilhelm Moberg 1944 Swedish Unknown
14550 April Witch Majgull Axelsson 1997 Swedish Swedish
11488 The Living Landscape In Sweden Sten Selander 1955 Swedish Swedish
14490 Den Tionde Sånggudinnan Carina Burman 1996 Swedish Swedish
11221 German Autumn Stig Dagerman 1947 Swedish Swedish
14153 Livets Ax Sven Delblanc 1991 Swedish Swedish
13528 On The Shred Of A Cloud Rolf Edberg 1979 Unknown Swedish
6694 Only A Mother Ivar Lo-Johansson 1939 Swedish Swedish
14625 According To Mary Magdalene Marianne Fredriksson 1998 Swedish Swedish
11604 Pubertet Ivar Lo-Johansson 1978 Swedish Swedish
9236 Ondskan Jan Guillou 1981 Swedish Swedish
11229 Poems Hjalmar Gullberg 1937 Swedish Swedish
6708 The Treasure Selma Lagerlöf 1899 Swedish Swedish
10216 Hjortronlandet Sara Lidman 1955 Swedish Swedish
11234 Alarm Clock Elin Wägner 1941 Swedish Swedish
1598 Ronia, The Robber's Daughter Astrid Lindgren 1981 Swedish Swedish
8419 The Way Of A Serpent Torgny Lindgren 1982 Swedish Swedish
11236 Godnatt, Jord Ivar Lo-Johansson 1933 Swedish Swedish
14627 Children Of Paradise Marianne Fredriksson 1999 Swedish Swedish
12017 Saknaden Ulf Lundell 2021 Swedish Swedish
13929 Dykungens Dotter Birgitta Trotzig 1985 Swedish Swedish
2585 Bokhandlaren som slutade bada Fritiof Nilsson Piraten 1937 Swedish Swedish
7890 The Dog Star Agneta Pleijel 2023 Swedish Swedish
11240 Ultra Marin Evert Taube 1936 Swedish Swedish
12192 Mitt Liv Herbert Tingsten 1966 Swedish Swedish
8100 Selected Poems Tomas Tranströmer 1981 Swedish Swedish
6691 Raskens Vilhelm Moberg 1927 Swedish Swedish
12481 Katanga Jonas Waern 1969 Unknown English
2968 A Dream Play August Strindberg 1902 Swedish Swedish
10980 The Children Of Noisy Village Astrid Lindgren 2003 Swedish Swedish
11247 Black Ballads Dan Andersson 1917 Swedish Swedish
13519 The March Of The Musicians P. O. Enquist 1978 Swedish Swedish
12599 Rapport Från En Skurhink Maja Ekelöf 1970 Swedish Swedish
14518 Brev Från Nollpunkten Peter Englund 1996 Swedish Swedish
9514 Agnes Cecilia Maria Gripe 1981 Swedish Swedish
11357 Solange Willy Kyrklund 1951 Swedish Swedish
14450 Rymdväktaren Peter Nilson 1995 Swedish Swedish
14017 Mulens Marker Gunnar Arnborg 1987 Unknown Unknown
11251 Lacemaker Lekholm Has An Idea Gustaf Hellström 1927 Swedish Swedish
10777 The Invisible Child Tove Jansson 1962 Finnish Swedish
12826 De Långa åren Eino Hanski 1972 Swedish Unknown
3180 Women And Appletrees Moa Martinson 1933 Swedish Swedish
6712 Bock I örtagård Fritiof Nilsson Piraten 1933 Swedish Swedish
4984 New Poems Rainer Maria Rilke 1907 German German