Arvid Falk is a young and idealistic government worker who always wanted to be a poet. When a journalist writes a newspaper exposé based on Arvid's stories about his useless government department, Arvid is fired immediately. Starting afresh he sets out to explore every corner of the Swedish society, and the hypocrisy and corruption he finds shocks him. Walking the streets of Stockholm will never be the same again once this novel gets under your skin. Named the first modern Swedish novel, 'The Red Room' (1879) is wonderfully insightful and ironic. The Charles Dickens influence is undeniable and Strindberg's writing has been rightfully compared to that of Henrik Ibsen as well.