ABSTRACT
This chapter describes literary attempts to piece together a portrait of Charles XII, who is one of the most potent and controversial icons of Swedish history. Charles's image—despite or because of Voltaire's famous biography—was not particularly positive in Enlightenment circles. Romanticism seems to be responsible for turning Charles XII into a major Swedish patriotic hero. Staffan Bjorck has done an admirable job of describing the political climate of turn-of-the-century Sweden in Heidenstam och Sekelskiftets Sverige. After World War II, social democracy dominated in Sweden's politics, and along with it, August Strindberg's old view of Charles XII as a despoiler of the Swedish nation. The impact of the postmodern era on the changing interpretations of Charles XII is subtle. The discourse of the past two centuries has ensured that the history of the Swedish people is the history of its attitude towards Charles XII.
