August Blanche

August Theodor Blanche was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the illegitimate child of a servant girl and a priest.

His mother eventually married Johan Jacob Blanck, a blacksmith, and the boy took his stepfather's name.

A brilliant student, in 1838 he obtained a law degree and for a time, worked as a civil servant until taking up journalism.

By the middle of the decade, he was writing novels and short stories of intrigue, all of which met with a great deal of success.

He died of unknown causes two years later, on 30 November 1868, on the way to participate in the unveiling of the statue of King Charles the XII, which he had lobbied for.