Swedish UNT Newspaper praise the novel The Female King by Kristina Sjögren.

Why are historical novels so popular? Perhaps – I have sometimes thought – because we perceive the past as more vital than the present. Vitally – extraordinarily vital – is in any case the Swedish 1600s that Kristina Sjögren allows us to meet when, after five youth novels, she debuts as an adult writer.

One of the most funny sources of the book is the letter of the French ambassador, Chanut, about his long, hard trip to Stockholm: “I am convinced that it is less difficult to get to paradise than we experienced to come here,” he writes. His impression of Stockholm is a frozen hamlet without culture and with miserable food. Kristina Sjögren’s own pictures of the city have a far more loving tone. She does not close her eyes for poverty, dirt and stench, but she is deeply fascinated by what she perceives as the vibrant, dynamic diversity of the city and she poetically portrays the beauty of the changing seasons.

The question is whether it is not just that – yes, just that: The vital and historical Stockholm that though her words become so real, that is where the strength of the novel lies.

Mikael Persbrandt is invited to exhibit at Hanaholmen in Helsinki, Finland 2018, and the exhibition will continue to Åland Art Museum in 2019.

The actor Mikael Persbrandt is also an artist. In 2016, he was the summer’s guest exhibitor at Sandgrund Lars Lerin in Karlstad. His work as an artist,  previously only for his own sake and his focus as a young man, was visited by a large audience, got a massive media attendance and was praised by critics. He continues his painting and there will be several exhibitions the coming years.

With a mother that painted, art has always been nearby in his life, but when he missed the finish line to get in Royal Academy of Art at the age of 19, his path in life became another.

Now the circle is closed again, and Mikael Persbrandt has found his way as an appreciated actor and an artist.