Mr. von Hancken (Herr von Hancken) - Hjalmar Bergman

Art. no. 216583973 24 Apr 2025

Herr von Hancken (1920) is a novel by Hjalmar Bergman that combines humor and tragedy in a story about the failed officer von Hancken and his adventures at a Swedish well site.

In Herr von Hancken, Hjalmar Bergman depicts the eccentric Captain von Hancken, who in the summer of 1806 arrives at Iglinge Brunn to cure his ailments. The novel is a pastiche of 19th-century stories and mixes hilarious comic elements with deep tragedy. Von Hancken, a Swedish Don Quixote, is obsessed with megalomania and dreams of performing great deeds, but his plans often lead to comic mishaps. Bergman explores themes of vanity, self-delusion and human weakness, while satirizing early 19th-century Swedish society. The novel has been dramatized several times, including as a TV series in 2000 starring Per Oscarsson