Inspector wallander henning mankell biography

Swedish author (1948–2015)

This article is about the author. For his grandfather, the composer (1868–1930), see Henning Mankell (composer).

Henning Georg Mankell (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈhɛ̂nːɪŋˈmǎŋːkɛl]; 3 February 1948 – 5 October 2015) was a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He also wrote a number of plays and screenplays for television.

He was a left-wing social critic and activist. In his books and plays he constantly highlighted social inequality issues and injustices in Sweden and abroad. In 2010, Mankell was on board one of the ships in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that was boarded by Israeli commandos. He was below deck on the MV Mavi Marmara when nine civilians were killed in international waters.

Mankell shared his time between Sweden and countries in Africa, mostly Mozambique where he started a theatre. He made considerable donations to charity organizations, mostly connected to Africa.

Life and career

Mankell's grandfather, also named Henning Mankell, lived from 1868 to 1930 and was a composer. Mankell was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1948. His father Ivar was a lawyer who divorced his mother when Mankell was one year old. He and an older sister lived with his father for most of their childhood. The family first lived in Sveg, Härjedalen in northern Sweden, where Mankell's father was a district judge. In the biography on Mankell's website, he describes this time when they lived in a flat above the court as one of the happiest in his life. In Sveg, a museum was built in his honour during his lifetime.

Later, when Mankell was thirteen, the family moved to Borås, Västergötland on the Swedish west coast near Gothenburg. After three years he dropped out of school and went to Paris when he was 16. Shortly afterwards he joined the merchant marine,

Henning Mankell's life was an open book: He kept a moving diary of his struggle with lung cancer.

In January 2014, the bestselling Swedish author decided to publically share his experience with the disease, saying he was approaching it from the perspective of life - not death.

In his novels, plays, diaries, speeches and on his website, he wrote and spoke about everything that was on his mind. He told of his illness, his life in Africa and his experience as a political activist: In 2010, he'd been part of the flotilla which tried to break the Israeli embargo of the Gaza strip.

Environmental destruction, corruption and social injustice in the world - those were the causes that moved him and which he wrote about.

The recent refugee crisis also impacted the author, who told Germany's "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" that is was an exaggeration to say we are being "flooded" with refugees. "We're not," he told the "FAZ." "We live in a world with refugees. That's how things are. Soon we will see the climate refugees coming."

Mankell's childhood love of Africa

Henning Mankell was born on February 3, 1948 in Stockholm, though his family soon moved to Sveg in the Swedish countryside. His parents divorced when he was just one year old and the young Henning mainly grew up with his father, a judge. As a boy, he enjoyed listening to stories about crime and justice.

At 16, he dropped out of school and joined the merchant navy. Back in Stockholm, he worked as a stage hand and, in 1968, began his career as a director and author.

When Henning Mankell recalled his childhood, he usually mentioned his love for Africa. But it wasn't until the 1970s that he was able to travel through the continent of his dreams. He once recalled the morning when he got out of the airplane in west Africa, reminiscing over the smells that he identified with Africa: bitter, sweet, sour, seductive, magical.

In 1985, he was

Praise for After the Fire

Fictional Swedish police officer, created by Henning Mankell

Fictional character

Kurt Wallander (Swedish pronunciation:[vaˈlǎnːdɛr]) is a fictional Swedish policeinspector created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell (1948 – 2015). He is the protagonist of many thriller/mystery novels set in and around the town of Ystad, 56 km (35 mi) south-east of the city of Malmö, in the southern province of Scania. Wallander has been portrayed on screen by the actors Rolf Lassgård, Krister Henriksson, Kenneth Branagh and Adam Pålsson.

Fictional character biography

Wallander was born in 1948. His mother died when he was about 14. After completing national service, he joined the police. As a young police officer, he was nearly killed when a drunk whom he was questioning stabbed him with a butcher's knife (this is mentioned in the account of his first case). He has a sister, Kristina. Wallander was once married, but his wife Mona left him and he has since had a difficult relationship with his rebellious only child, Linda, who barely survived a suicide attempt when she was fifteen. He also has issues with his father, an artist who has painted the same landscape 7,000 times for a living; the elder Wallander strongly disapproved of his son's decision to join the police force and frequently derides him for it.

Wallander is a great fan of opera; while in his car he regularly listens to recordings of famous opera singers such as Maria Callas, and when he can find the time goes to opera performances, sometimes crossing over to Copenhagen, Denmark for this purpose. At one time, Wallander had dreamed of making opera his life, leaving the police force and becoming the impresario of his friend, Sten Widén, a tenor who aspired to sing opera. But Widén's voice was not good enough and the dream came to naught—a crushing disappointment in Wallander's life (as in Widén's).

Inspector Wallander has few cl