Squire Hellman (Aho Juhani)(Paperback)

The publication of this book in 1893 marked the first time that a translation into English had occurred from modern Finnish literature. These four deeply contrasting pieces from the pen of Juhani Aho, one of the founding fathers of that new national consciousness, are remarkable in their combination of rustic settings and strange psychological subtlety. The title-piece is both harrowing and humorous. Squire Hellman is an angry fiend of a man, bellowing constantly at his wife and servants, as well as all local dignitaries, and whipping his horses in a frenzy if he gets frustrated. One day, at a taxation court, he impatiently lets loose one too many times The bailiff and a local captain decide that it's time he paid for his social crimes, and devise a cunning way to force him to recant. The other three pieces are sketches of rural life, delineating with unusual intensity psychological
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