Everything about Mika Waltari totally explained
Mika Toimi Waltari (
September 19,
1908 –
August 26,
1979) was a
Finnish historical novelist, best known for his
magnum opus The Egyptian .
Early life
Waltari was born in
Helsinki and lost his father, a
Lutheran pastor, at the age of five. As a boy, he witnessed the
Finnish Civil War in Helsinki. Later he enrolled in the
University of Helsinki as a
theology student, according to his mother's wishes, but soon abandoned theology in favour of
philosophy,
aesthetics and
literature, graduating in
1929. While studying, he contributed to various magazines and wrote poetry and stories, getting his first book published in
1925. In
1927 he went to
Paris where he wrote his first major novel
Suuri illusioni ('The Grand Illusion'), a story of
bohemian life. In terms of style, the novel is considered to be the Finnish equivalent to the works of the American writers of the
Lost Generation. (In Waltari's historical novel
The Adventurer, taking place in the 16th century, the hero is a Finn who goes to Paris during his twenties and lives there a rather bohemian life). Waltari also was, for a while, a member of the
liberal literary movement
Tulenkantajat, though his political and social views later turned ultra-
conservative. He was married in
1931 and had a daughter, Satu, who also became a writer.
Throughout the
1930s and
1940s, Waltari worked hectically as a journalist and critic, writing for a number of newspapers and magazines and travelling widely in Europe. He directed the magazine
Suomen Kuvalehti. At the same time, he kept writing books in many genres, moving easily from one literary field to another. He had a very busy schedule and strict work ethic. It has been claimed that he also suffered from
insomnia and
depression, sometimes to the extent of needing hospital treatment. He participated, and often succeeded, in literary competitions to prove the quality of his work to critics. One of these competitions gave rise to one of his most popular characters,
Inspector Palmu, a gruff detective of the Helsinki police department, who starred in three mystery novels, all of which were filmed (a fourth one was made without Waltari involved). Waltari also scripted the popular
cartoon Kieku ja Kaiku and wrote
Aiotko kirjailijaksi, a guidebook for aspiring writers that influenced many younger writers such as
Kalle Päätalo.
World War II and international break-through
During the
Winter War (1939–1940) and the
Continuation War (1941–1944), Waltari worked in the government information center, now also placing his literary skills at the service of political
propaganda. 1945 saw the publication of Waltari's first and most successful historical novel,
The Egyptian. Its theme of the corruption of humanist values in a materialist world seemed curiously topical in the aftermath of
World War II, and the book became an international bestseller, serving as the basis of the 1954
Hollywood movie of the same name. Waltari wrote seven more historical novels, placed in various ancient cultures, among which
The Dark Angel, set during the
Fall of Constantinople in
1453 is probably the best. In these novels, he gave powerful expression to his fundamental pessimism and also, in two novels set in the
Roman Empire, to his
Christian conviction. After the war, he also wrote several
novellas, showing particular mastery in this genre. He became a member of the
Finnish Academy in 1957 and received an honorary doctorate at the
University of Turku in 1970.
Waltari was one of the most prolific Finnish writers. He wrote at least 29 novels, 15 novellas, 6 collections of stories or fairy-tales, 6 collections of poetry and 26 plays, as well as screenplays, radioplays, non-fiction, translations, and hundreds of reviews and articles. He is also the internationally best-known Finnish writer, and his works have been translated into more than 40 languages.
Works translated into English
Novels
- A Stranger Came to the Farm (Vieras mies tuli taloon, 1937)
- The Egyptian (Sinuhe egyptiläinen, 1945, abridged translation)
- The Adventurer (Mikael Karvajalka, 1948)
- A Nail Merchant Nightfall (Neljä päivänlaskua, 1949)
- The Wanderer (Mikael Hakim, 1949)
- The Dark Angel (Johannes Angelos, 1952)
- The Etruscan (Turms kuolematon, 1955)
- The Secret of the Kingdom (Valtakunnan salaisuus, 1959)
- The Roman (Ihmiskunnan viholliset, 1964)
Novellas
Moonscape (Kuun maisema, 1953)
The Tree of Dreams (Koiranheisipuu, 1961)Further Information
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