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To carry out this exalted conception the author has combined the vivid realism and imaginative power we have noticed in his early poetry and carried them out on a grand scale.

His peculiar gift, as had been suggested before, is his intensity.

George Meredith has said that fervor is the core of style.

Of few authors is this more true than of Heidenstam.

The Charles Men has a tremendous range of characters, of common folk even more than of major figures.

The career of Charles 12, is obviously very similar to that of Napoleon.

His ideal was Alexander of Macedon, as Napoleon's was Julius Caesar.

His purpose, however, was not to establish an empire, but to assert the principle of divine justice.

Each aspired to be a god in human form, but with each it was a different kind of god.

Each failed catastrophically in an invasion of Russia and each brought ruin on the country that worshipped him.

Each is still glorified as a national hero.