Leif G. W. Persson
Leif G. W. Persson | |
---|---|
Born | Leif Gustav Willy Persson 12 March 1945 Stockholm, Sweden |
Occupation |
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Nationality | Swedish |
Period | 1978–present |
Genre | |
Notable works | He Who Kills the Dragon Falling Freely, As in a Dream Linda - as in the Linda Murder Case |
Website | |
www |
Leif Gustav Willy "GW" Persson (born 12 March 1945) is a Swedish
Early life
Leif Gustav Willy Persson was born on 12 March 1945 in Stockholm, Sweden to Gustav and Margit Persson. He attended the High School Norra Real.
Career
In 1977, while working at the
Persson was a professor in
Media stardom and personality
In 1990, Persson together with Jan Guillou and Pär Lorentzon appeared in a SVT program Grabbarna på Fagerhult, indulging in hunting, fishing, and other traditionally male leisure activities.[5] As the 1990s went on, Leif GW Persson emerged as one of Sweden's most acclaimed media personalities, and his popularity continued to grow through the 2000s.
Often referred to simply as "GW", he frequently appears on television, radio, and in other media as a commentator on crime and criminology. Among other things, he is a noted expert on the unsolved 1986
A self-described bacchanalian and an alcoholic, Persson has famously coped with his addiction by practicing a strict half-year regime since the late 1980s: denying himself alcohol (and other drugs) for six months, and then drinking heavily during the rest of the year. In 2018, at age 73, he announced that his failing health would prevent him from fully resuming alcohol use, lamenting that he would henceforth be "unrecognizable" for an entire year instead of the usual six sober months.[8]
Persson, who is overweight and has at times been very obese, has also struggled with his food intake. In the early 2000s, he was forced to abandon a habit of "food orgies" – regular bouts of extremely lavish, high-end gourmet dining and drinking – with his friend, the media mogul Jan Stenbeck, after his physician warned that his heart could not take another year of it. According to Persson, it was Stenbeck's refusal to cut back on the gourmandizing that led to his death in 2002.[9]
Bibliography
- Grisfesten (1978; The Pig Party)
- Profitörerna (1979; The Profiteers)
- Hidden criminality: theoretical and methodological problems, empirical results (1980)
- Min kompetens (1981; My Competence)
- Samhällsbärarna (1982; The Pillars of Society)
- Mellan sommarens längtan och vinterns köld (2002 – first volume in a trilogy that deals with Sweden in the Cold War era and events related to the yet unsolved 1986 murder of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme; Between Summer's Longing and Winter's End, UK 2010, trans. Paul Norlen).
- En annan tid, ett annat liv (2003 – second volume in the trilogy; Another Time, Another Life, UK 2012, trans. Paul Norlen)
- Linda - som i Lindamordet (2005 – Evert Bäckström book 1; Linda – as in the Linda Murder, UK 2013, trans. Neil Smith)
- Faller fritt som i en dröm (2007 – third volume in the trilogy; Falling Freely, as if in a Dream, UK 2014, trans. Paul Norlen)
- Den som dödar draken (2008 – Evert Bäckström book 2; He Who Kills the Dragon, UK 2013, trans. Neil Smith)
- Den döende detektiven (2010; The Dying Detective)
- Gustavs Grabb' (2011 – autobiography)
- Den sanna historien om Pinocchios näsa (2013 – Evert Bäckström book 3; The Sword of Justice[10])
- Bombmakaren och hans kvinna (2015)
Evert Bäckström novels
So far, three of Persson's novels feature homicide detective Evert Bäckström. Bäckström is one of the most successful investigators within the police force; he displays excellent deductive skills.
Bäckström appeared as a supporting character in the TV mini-series En pilgrims död and Den fjärde mannen. (The main characters in these series were Jarnebring and Johansson.) In both of these series, Bäckström was played by Claes Malmberg.
An American TV Series was made in 2015 entitled Backstrom. The show takes place in Portland, Oregon, USA instead of Sweden, and the character's first name is changed to Everett. However the character's actual personality remains more or less unchanged. Backstrom was played by Rainn Wilson. The show was cancelled after one season.
In a Swedish TV series, Bäckström is played by Kjell Bergqvist. The first season of six episodes aired in 2020. The second season of six episodes aired in 2022.
Jarnebring and Johansson
Several of Persson's novels feature police officers Bo Jarnebring and Lars Martin Johansson, partners and best friends.
In the film Mannen från Mallorca (adapted from the novel Grisfesten) Jarnebring is played by Sven Wollter, and Johansson by Tomas von Brömssen. Two TV mini-series featuring the characters were produced starring Rolf Lassgård as Johansson and Per Svensson as Jarnebring: En pilgrims död (2013) and Den fjärde mannen (2014-15). (These two series also featured Persson's other character Evert Bäckström.) A third series Den döende detektiven was broadcast in 2018.
Anna Holt
Created by Persson, police detective Anna Holt has appeared in both Persson's novels, and in novels by fellow author Jan Guillou. Holt has also appeared in several television adaptations starring Petra Nielsen.
Notable adaptations
- Profitörerna (TV series, 1983)
- Mannen från Mallorca (The Man from Majorca, film, 1984)
- I lagens namn (In the Name of the Law, film, 1986)
- En pilgrims död (Death of a Pilgrim, TV mini-series, 2013)
- Den fjärde mannen (The Fourth Man, TV mini-series, 2014–15)
- Backstrom, (US TV series, 2015)
- Bäckström, (TV series, 2020-present)
Awards
Persson won the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award (Bästa svenska kriminalroman), for three of his novels: Samhällsbärarna in 1982, En annan tid, ett annat liv in 2003, and Den döende detektiven in 2010. This award is a literary prize awarded annually by the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy.
He also received the 2011 Glass Key award for Den döende detektiven (The Dying Detective); this award is a given annually to a crime novel by an author from the Nordic countries and the 2011 Palle Rosenkrantz Prize, which is awarded by the Det danske Kriminalakademi for the best criminal literature translated into Danish.
References
- ^ "Skavlan, October 19".
- ISBN 978-0-9796163-6-5.
- ^ "Inspector Norse: Why are Nordic detective novels so successful?". The Economist. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
- ^ https://nyheter24.se/noje/915514-premiar-for-brottsjournalen-pa-tv4
- ^ {{https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/fagerhult-ar-mer-tolerant-an-stockholm
- ^ Svensson, Adam (24 March 2018). "Därför blev Leif GW Persson ett mediefenomen". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ Rosenvinge, Therese (21 August 2017). "Hur mycket Leif GW Persson tål Sverige?".
- ^ Meijer, Jakob (18 August 2018). "Leif GW Perssons nya spritbesked: "Nu är jag inte att känna igen"". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Hellberg, Magnus (7 May 2006). "Leif GW Persson: Jag höll på att dö av matorgier". Expressen. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Books – Den sanna historien om Pinocchios näsa". SalomonssonAgency.se. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.