Miracles of the Antichrist, The

The Miracles of Antichrist relies heavily on the legends and folk tales of Sicily. The descriptions, rich in the warm colors of the South, convey Lagerlöf's understanding of the hot blooded Sicilians with the same insight and sympathy which she evokes while describing the introspective Swedes. Lagerlöf borrows from an ancient Sicilian legend which says, "When Antichrist comes he shall seem as Christ. There shall be great want, and Antichrist shall go from land to land and give bread to the poor. And he shall find many followers." Masterfully, she intertwines a tale of modern Sicily in an era when revolutionary socialism is sweeping the island and making heavy inroads upon the influence of the church. Selma Ottiliana Lovisa Lagerlööf (1858-1940) was born in Sweden. She had been writing poetry ever since she was a child, but she did not publish anything until 1890, when a Swedish newspaper gave her the first prize in a literary competition and published excerpts from her first novel, Gösta Berlings Saga (published in 1891 and very successful). During her travels to Italy she wrote The Miracles of Antichrist in 1897. After several minor works she published Jerusalem (translated in English as The Holy City) but it was with The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, a book for children, that she became recognized worldwide. In 1909.she became the first woman and also the first Swedish writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. She was so popular that her books were translated into 34 languages.