The Inferno

The Inferno is an autobiographical fiction book by Swedish author, August Strindberg. In Paris, isolated from his friends, wife, and children, the narrator hangs around with artists and writers; dabbling in the occult and believing himself to be guided by mysterious forces. After being introduced to the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, he begins to see his life as a living hell. Exploring subjects such as occultism and alchemy (which were obsessions of Strindbergs), the book shows signs of paranoia and neuroticism. This has often been used as proof that the author himself suffered from such things, but there is evidence that they are both invented and exaggerated in the book.