From 1982 to 2000, he was professor in literary studies at the University of Gothenburg,[3] with a short break when he was Svenska Dagbladet's cultural director from 1991 to 1993.

Lönnroth's research has to a large extent dealt with the Icelandic medieval fairy tale literature.

[3] Reviewing the Festschrift written in his honour in 2000,[5] Ulf Malm described Lönnroth as "the energetically combative and polemically gifted literature professor from Gothenburg".

The book explains that the reverse was the case; Bellman uninterruptedly played carefully-crafted roles,[7] including troubadour, court dramatist, and satirist.

[10] Fredman's Epistles necessarily[8] take a central place in the book, but it offers much fresh detail on Bellman's lesser-known works, such as Bacchi Tempel.