Per Olov Enquist

Per Olov Enquist, better known as P. O. Enquist, (born 23 September 1934) is a Swedish author. He has worked as a journalist, playwright, and novelist. In the 1990s, he gained international recognition with his novel The Visit of the Royal Physician.

Biography

Enquist was born in Hjoggböle, Skellefteå, Västerbotten. After gaining a degree in the history of literature at Uppsala University Enquist worked as a newspaper columnist and TV debate moderator from 1965 to 1976. His work soon made him an influential figure on the Swedish literary scene. From 1970 to 1971 he lived in Berlin on a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service and in 1973 he was a visiting professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has worked as an independent writer since 1977.

Enquist's works are characterized by a chronically pessimistic view of the world. They invariably describe the restrictions imposed by a pietistic way of living, and this is especially so in March of the Musicians (1978) and Lewi's Journey (2001). He gained international recognition with his novel The Visit of the Royal Physician (1999), which tells the story of Johann Friedrich Struensee, the personal physician of King Christian VII of Denmark. A number of his works have been translated into English by Tiina Nunnally.