Literature


It was not until the 16th century that the first books were published in the Finnish language. Before that time, the only written languages in the country were Swedish and Latin. Even then, for a long period Finnish was only used for religious literature, and Swedish remained the language of the educated classes until the 19th century and the national awakening.

The Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, is one of the truly great epics of world literature. It is based on ancient Karelian folklore and was put together by Elias Lönnrot in 1835. The Kalevala has been an endless source of inspiration for many authors and painters, especially during the national romantic period.

The first well known author to write in Finnish was Aleksis Kivi, whose novel The Seven Brothers, a realistic description of rural life, is one of the classics of Finnish literature. Väinö Linna and Mika Waltari are the best known Finnish authors of the 20th century, as well as F. E Sillanpää (who was awarded the Nobel prize in 1939) together with Tove Jansson, whose Moomin trolls now have an international reputation. Among the best-selling writers of today are for example Kalle Päätalo and Laila Hietamies.