books and dramas until his death in Stockholm. He also was an accomplished painter and photographer. The 90s poets The Swedish 1890s is noted for its poetic neo-romanticism, a reaction to the socio-realistic literature of the 1880s. The first key literary figure to emerge was Verner von Heidenstam (1859–1940); his literary debut came in 1887 with the collection of poetry Vallfart och vandringsår (Pilgrimage and Wander-Years). A few years later, Gustav Fröding made his debut. While controversial in his own time, Fröding has proven to be Sweden's most popular poet. The poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1931. The novelist Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) was arguably the brightest star of the 1890s, and her influence has lasted up to modern times. Two of her major works, which have been translated into several languages, are The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906–1907) and Gösta Berlings saga (1891), but she also wrote several other highly regarded books. Lagerlöf was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909, mainly for her storytelling abilities. 20th century Modern literature It was in the 1910s that a new literary period began with the ageing August Strindberg, who published several critical articles, contesting many conservative values. With the advent of social democracy and large-scale strikes, the winds were blowing in the direction of social reforms. The modern novel In the 1910s, the dominant form of literary expression was now the novel. One of the earliest novelists was Hjalmar Söderberg (1869–1941). Söderberg wrote in a somewhat cynical way, at times with Nietzschean overtones, disillusionment and pessimism. In 1901 he published Martin Birck's Youth. It was appreciated by many for its literary qualities, but an even greater aspect was its depiction of Stockholm, which is widely regarded as the best portrait of Stockholm ever written. His most highly regarded work was yet to come however: Doctor Glas (1905), a tale of vengeance and passion, viewed by some as the best and most complete of all Swedish novels. Margaret Atwood, for example, has said of Doctor Glas: "It occurs on the cusp of the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, but it opens doors the novel has been opening ever since". Söderberg's 1912 novel Den allvarsamma leken (The Serious Game) is also acknowledged as a classic in Swedish literature and is still widely read. It has been called the only romance novel of any worth in