August Strindberg — Inferno
New translation by Carl Nordblom
with a preface by Dr. Henrik Johnsson
August Strindberg's autobiographical Inferno is perhaps one of the most gripping and vividly written occult novels of all time. Set in the 1890s, it finds the renowned Swedish writer in the middle of his life and at the height of his literary career, yet consumed by a desire to abandon mundane life in search of the knowledge that unlocks the secrets of nature and spirit. He moves to Paris, leaving his wife and daughter behind, and resolves to devote himself entirely to alchemy and the esoteric sciences.
Set against the backdrop of the Parisian occult revival, Inferno follows Strindberg through circles of Occultists, Theosophists, and the artistic avant-garde of the day, including Edvard Munch and Paul Gauguin. He drinks absinthe, writes articles for Gérard Encausse's (Papus') journal L'Initiation, and constantly searches for signs from the "Unseen Forces" that seem to govern both his fate and the world around him.
Yet it is here that his descent into hell begins. He conducts dangerous experiments in metallurgical transmutation that leave his hands severely damaged; he dabbles in black magic and becomes convinced that the curses he casts are frighteningly effective; and he comes to believe that unseen enemies are subjecting him to electrical attacks as he lies in his hotel bed. At the infernal depths of spiritual and mental torment, salvation eventually arrives through the otherworldly teachings of the eighteenth-century mystic Emanuel Swedenborg...
Since its publication, literary critics and historians have often interpreted Inferno as a record of Strindberg's descent into madness. Yet, as Dr. Henrik Johnsson demonstrates in his preface, when the work is situated within the esoteric worldview that Strindberg had cultivated for many years, a more coherent picture emerges. Rather than a chaotic account of mental collapse, Inferno follows a distinct trajectory of esoteric thought, drawn from the author’s quest for a natural science which encompasses a spiritual dimension.
Carl Nordblom is a Swedish esotericist, author and bookseller. He is the current store-manager of London’s oldest occult bookshop "Watkins Books". He has authored two works in English concerning Scandinavian folk magical practice – "Historiola: The power of the narrative charms" (Hadean Press, 2017), and "Nordic Witchcraft" (Hadean Press, forthcoming 2026). His main spiritual interest lie in esoteric Sanskritic traditions.
Carl first read "Inferno" in his late teens and was immediately moved by the sense of recognition he found in Strindberg's spiritual crisis. He came to regard the work as a cautionary tale about the psychological and existential upheavals that may befall those who venture, unguided, too deeply into the hidden dimensions of existence.
