ELKAN, SOPHIE

ELKAN, SOPHIE (1853–1921), Swedish novelist. She published some early works under the pseudonym Rust Roest, but her best-known novels, based mainly on historical themes, appeared under her own name. These include John Hall (1899) and two novels dealing with the Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus IV – Konungen ("The King," 1904) and Konungen i landsflykt ("The King in Exile," 1906). Her central characters are perverted personalities, whom she analyzes with psychological subtlety. Following a voyage to Egypt and Palestine which she undertook with Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940), she wrote an interesting book entitled Drömmen om Österlandet ("The Dream of the Eastern Land," 1904). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Svenskt Litteraturlexikon (1964), 120. (Hugo Mauritz Valentin)