[5] Kivi is regarded as the national writer of Finland and his birthday, 10 October, is celebrated as Finnish Literature Day.

[2] Aleksis had three older brothers – Johannes, Emanuel, and Albert – and a younger sister, Agnes, who died in 1851 at the age of 13.

[8] During his time at school Kivi read world literature from the library of his landlord, and during his university studies, he saw plays by Molière and Schiller at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki.

Literary critics, especially the prominent August Ahlqvist, disapproved of the book, at least nominally because of its "rudeness" (Romanticism was at its height at the time).

[9] In a review published in Finlands Allmänna Tidning, Ahlqvist wrote that "the brothers' characters were nothing like calm, serious and laborious folk who toiled the Finnish lands.

[citation needed] In 1865, Kivi won the State Prize for his still often performed comedy Nummisuutarit (Heath Cobblers).

The psychiatrist Kalle Achté concludes, based on a documentary survey, that Kivi was suffering from of schizophrenia,[8] although advanced borreliosis has also been suggested.

[16] In the early 20th century, young writers Volter Kilpi and Eino Leino raised Kivi to the status of national icon.