Axel Munthe – författare

Axel Munthe (1857-1949) var en svensk läkare, författare, kosmopolit, filantrop och övertygad djurvän. Han var bl.a. drottning Victorias livläkare fram till hennes död 1930. Som författare har han blivit mest känd för Boken om San Michele (1929), som gjorde honom världsberömd. Den blev en internationell bestseller och har översatts till fler än 60 språk. Boken kan närmast beskrivas som en fantasirik och underhållande blandning av filosofiska funderingar kring livet och döden, medicinsk etik, djurens rätt och inte alltid helt sanna historier ur författarens händelserika liv. I fokus för boken står dock Munthes dröm om att bygga ett hus på Capri, en dröm han kom att förverkliga. I ett av bokens företal diskuteras varför den blev en sådan enorm bestseller. Bland de förklaringar som fördes fram och återgavs av Munthe fanns att ”den boken är olik varenda bok jag någonsin läst” och att ”den mannen är olik alla andra människor jag någonsin råkat.”

This 'dream-laden and spooked' (Marina Warner, London Review of Books) story is to many one of the best-loved books of the twentieth century.Munthe spent many years working as a doctor in Southern Italy, labouring unstintingly during typhus, cholera and earthquake disasters. It was during this period that he came across the ruined Tiberian villa of San Michele, perched high above the glittering Bay of Naples on Capri. With the help of Mastro Nicola and his three sons, and with only a charcoal sketch roughly drawn on a garden wall to guide them, Munthe devoted himself to rebuilding the house and chapel. Over five long summers they toiled under a sapphire-blue sky, their mad-cap project leading them to buried skeletons and ancient coins, and to hilarious encounters with a rich cast of vividly-drawn villagers.The Story of San Michele reverberates with the mesmerising hum of a long, hot Italian summer. Peopled with unforgettable characters, it is as brilliantly enjoyable and readable today as it was upon first publication. The book quickly became an international bestseller and has now been translated into more than 30 languages; it is today an established classic, and sales number in the millions.

Memories and Vagaries have been out of print for long. Death was due to natural cause, and the few mourners who accompanied the book to the common grave of oblivion, have so far borne their loss with stubborn resignation. So have I, until the long-forgotten book was read to me the other day by a friendly voice. As I listened with a compassionate smile on my lips to these humble stories, I suddenly felt a pang in my heart, and I wished I could write to-day just such a book as this with all its shortcomings, its boyish boisterousness, its guileless self-consciousness, its incorrigible joie de vivre and its unshaken faith. Alas! I shall wish it in vain, it is my youth I wish for!La vie s’en va, Madame, la vie s’en va !Hélas! la vie non, mais nous, nous en allons.

A timeless classic of travel, philosophy, and the human spirit. The Story of San Michele by Axel Munthe is one of the most beloved memoirs of the twentieth century a radiant blend of autobiography, travel writing, and spiritual reflection set against the sunlit beauty of Capri, Italy. Written by a Swedish doctor and humanitarian, this unforgettable book chronicles a life devoted to healing, compassion, art, and the search for meaning. From the glittering salons of Paris and Rome to the serene gardens of San Michele, Munthe recounts his encounters with the rich and the poor, the powerful and the suffering, weaving together tales of medicine, faith, and human resilience. His lyrical prose captures both the grandeur of the Mediterranean and the quiet dignity of those he served as a physician to the poor and the dying. The Story of San Michele is an international bestseller, translated into dozens of languages and adored by millions of readers around the world. More than a memoir, it is a spiritual journey through beauty, mortality, and the mystery of life itself a book that continues to inspire travelers, dreamers, and lovers of classic literature nearly a century later. Rediscover this literary masterpiece of travel and transformation, perfect for readers who cherish E. M. Forster, Somerset Maugham, Isak Dinesen, and Rainer Maria Rilke a breathtaking celebration of compassion, art, and the eternal Mediterranean light.

This ‘dream-laden and spooked’ (Marina Warner, London Review of Books) story is to many one of the best-loved books of the twentieth century. Munthe spent many years working as a doctor in Southern Italy, labouring unstintingly during typhus, cholera and earthquake disasters. It was during this period that he came across the ruined Tiberian villa of San Michele, perched high above the glittering Bay of Naples on Capri. With the help of Mastro Nicola and his three sons, and with only a charcoal sketch roughly drawn on a garden wall to guide them, Munthe devoted himself to rebuilding the house and chapel. Over five long summers they toiled under a sapphire-blue sky, their mad-cap project leading them to buried skeletons and ancient coins, and to hilarious encounters with a rich cast of vividly-drawn villagers. The Story of San Michele reverberates with the mesmerising hum of a long, hot Italian summer. Peopled with unforgettable characters, it is as brilliantly enjoyable and readable today as it was upon first publication. The book quickly became an international bestseller and has now been translated into more than 30 languages; it is today an established classic, and sales number in the millions.