[Gutenberg 45375] • Plays by August Strindberg, First Series

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE BRIDAL CROWN

THE SPOOK SONATA

THE FIRST WARNING

GUSTAVUS VASA

MUSICAL APPENDIX TO "THE BRIDAL CROWN"

INTRODUCTION

The province of Dalecarlia has often been called the heart of Sweden.

It is a centrally located inland province, said to contain a sample

of everything the country can offer in the way of natural beauty. For

centuries it played a remarkable part in Swedish history, taking the

leadership time and again in the long struggle to rid the nation of a

perverted and abused union with Denmark and Norway. It has preserved

the original stock, the original language, and the original customs

of the race as no other province. The dialects used in Dalecarlia are

among the most difficult to understand for outsiders and have an air of

antiquity that irresistibly leads the thought back to old Norse. The

picturesque costumes characteristic of the different parishes are still

in use, and one of these--that of Rättvik--has almost become *the*

national costume of Sweden.