Axel Munthe
Encyclopedia
Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (October 31, 1857, Oskarshamn
, Sweden – February 11, 1949, Stockholm
) was a Swedish
psychiatrist
, best known as the author of The Story of San Michele
, an autobiographical account of his life and work.
Axel Munthe had a multi-national character and spoke several languages (Swedish
, English
, French
, Italian
fluently, and German
at least passably), growing up in Sweden
, attending medical school and opening his first practice in France
. He was married to an English aristocrat, and spent most of his adult life in Italy
. Munthe had a philanthropic nature, often treating the poor without charge at his medical practices, and risking his life on several occasions to help in times of war, disaster, or plague when he could have remained at a safe distance. He was a tireless advocate of animal rights, purchasing land to create a bird sanctuary near his home in Italy
, advocating bans on painful traps, and keeping pets as diverse as an owl
and a baboon
, and many different kinds of dog
s. His writing is light-hearted, being primarily memoirs drawn from his real-life experiences but often tinged with sad or tragic events, often using dramatic license.
He primarily wrote about people and their idiosyncrasies, portraying the foibles of both the rich and the poor and about a few animals as well.
and settled in Sweden
during the 16th century.
.
While travelling in 1875, Munthe sailed in a small boat
from Sorrento
to the island
of Capri
. Climbing the Phoenicia
n stairs to the village of Anacapri
, he came upon a peasant's house and the adjacent ruin of a chapel dedicated to San Michele
and was immediately captivated by the idea of rebuilding the ruin into a home.
Munthe studied medicine in Uppsala
, Montpellier
, and Paris
(where he was a student of Charcot
), graduating M.D. in 1880 at the age of 23. Although his thesis was on the subject of gynecology and obstetrics
, Munthe was deeply impressed by the pioneering work in neurology
done by Professor Jean-Martin Charcot
, having attended his lectures at the Salpêtrière hospital.
After graduation, Munthe opened a medical practice in Paris
, largely catering to the members of the Scandinavia
n art colony
there. In 1884 he traveled to Naples
to help with the cholera
epidemic.
In 1887, he moved to Capri
and managed to purchase the Villa San Michele
and begin restoring the buildings there, doing much of the work himself, but also employing local residents, including three brothers and their father.
In 1890, running low on money for the renovations, he opened a practice in Rome
which catered to foreign dignitaries as well as the local population. From this time on he divided his time between Rome and Capri
.
. In particular, he served as the personal physician of the Crown princess, Victoria of Baden
, and he continued in these duties while she was Queen consort
, up until the time of her death in 1930, although this does not mean that he was constantly in attendance on her.
Victoria suffered from severe bronchitis
and possibly also from tuberculosis
. Munthe recommended that she spend her winters on Capri for her health. While initially hesitant, in the autumn of 1910 she traveled to Capri, and from then on, except during the First World War and a few years towards the end of her life, she spent several months a year on Capri.
While in residence, the Queen went to the Villa San Michele many mornings in order to join Munthe for walks around the island. Munthe and the Queen also arranged evening concerts at San Michele, at which the Queen played the piano. The Queen shared Munthe's love of animals, keeping a pet dog, and helping support his efforts to purchase Mount Barbarossa to set it aside as a bird sanctuary. Perhaps inevitably given the small local population and their close friendship, it was rumored that Munthe and the Queen were lovers, but this has not been substantiated.
Further evidence of his passionate nature hinges on an affair he seems to have had with a famous English hostess, Ottoline Morrell, beginning when they first met in July or August 1898. Ottoline was then an unmarried 25-year old lady inhabiting London's privileged society yet slightly contemptuous of it. Her intellectual and spiritual interest drew her to more mature men, such as Herbert Asquith, especially if they were imbued with an air of iconoclasm. Axel Munthe and she were drawn to each other, meaningfully, and they managed to spend significant private time together in Capri. The episode is described in Sandra Jobson Darroch's biography of Ottoline, early in Chapter 2.
. They divorced in the late 1880s, and in 1892 she remarried, to a Swedish manufacturer named Gustaf Richter. She had a boy by Richter in 1893, and died in 1895.
In 1907, Munthe married an English woman, Hilda Pennington-Mellor. They had two sons, Peter and Malcolm
. Hilda Munthe came from an aristocratic
background. Her family owned two notable properties in England: Hellens
in Herefordshire
, one of the oldest dwellings in the country, and Southside House
, a 17th century mansion on Wimbledon Common in London
. An anecdote relates that Munthe was discussing publication of The Story of San Michele with his publisher, John Murray
, in the garden at Southside, and Murray related that his ancestor of the same name
had sat in the same garden with Lord Byron, discussing publication of Byron's works.
In 1910-1911, Munthe had a 14-room summer home built in Sweden as a present for his wife. The residence, initially called Stengården (The Stone Court), has been known as Hildasholm since her death in 1967. It was built amidst the trees on the edge of Lake Siljan in Dalarna
. It was designed by architect Torben Grut, who would in 1912 complete the Stockholm stadium
used in that year's Olympics
. Hilda landscaped the home with an English garden
that combines with the rocky and dramatic native landscape. It was furnished with 17th, 18th, and 19th century art and furniture from Italy
, England
, and France
.
Mrs. Munthe and the boys usually stayed in this house during the summer, but Dr. Munthe was not there very often, spending as much time as possible at San Michele
.
, Munthe became a British citizen and served in an ambulance corps. He wrote the book Red Cross, Iron Cross about his wartime experiences.
, who took possession of Villa San Michele. This was described by Scottish author Compton Mackenzie
in his diaries.
Munthe developed an eye malady which eventually made him virtually blind and unable to tolerate the bright Italian sunlight. At this point he returned to Sweden for a number of years and wrote The Story of San Michele
(published in 1929), which was well received, having been translated into at least forty-five languages and said to be one of the best-selling books of the 20th century.
An operation restored his sight, and he spent several more years at San Michele before returning to Sweden in 1942. He spent the final years of his life as an official guest of the King of Sweden.
During the Second World War, Munthe's son Malcolm Pennington Mellor Munthe served with the Special Operations Executive
, working behind Nazi lines in occupied Scandinavia, and later participating in the Allied invasion at Anzio
. Malcolm was seriously wounded during the war and eventually became reclusive.
vaccine
. He believed in euthanasia
in hopeless medical situations, such as rabies
, where the patients had only a period of intense pain and insanity ahead of them.
overshadows Munthe's other publications, and includes material from some of his earlier work. His earlier work can be very difficult to find and often commands high prices, but at least one book has entered the public domain
and is now freely available.
Other than his thesis, his first publications covered a number of travel discourses which appeared in the Stockholms Dagblad newspaper, and which described his experiences of relief work during the cholera epidemic in Naples. These discourses came out in book form in England in 1887as Letters From A Mourning City (Naples, Autumn, 1884), 289 pages, John Murray and Sons Publishers, London. This was translated from Swedish to English by Maude Valerie White. ASIN
for the second edition, published in 1889, is B00087WVNO. Munthe translated this from Swedish to English himself.
Vagaries
was initially published in London in 1898 and is now public domain http://books.google.com/books?id=PhVkxZaJAzMC. It was retitled Memories and Vagaries and a second edition printed in 1908. In 1930 there was a third edition, containing an added preface and a slightly different selection of stories with slightly different ordering.
Red Cross, Iron Cross was published anonymously, credited as "by a doctor in France", in London in 1916 with all proceeds going to the French Red Cross, and details some of his experiences during the First World War. A second edition, credited to Munthe, was published around 1930.
Letters From A Mourning City was published in Swedish in 1885 and in Italian in 1910.
Memories and Vagaries
seems to have very different titles in other languages, often
being titled roughly An Old Book of Man and Beasts; see that article for more information.
Axel Munthe willed Villa San Michele to the Swedish nation, and it is maintained by a Swedish foundation. The complex functions as a cultural center, hosting concerts, visiting Swedish scholars, and the local Swedish consulate. The foundation also maintains the Mount Barbarossa bird sanctuary, which covers over 55,000 square meters.
In 1980, a foundation (Stiftelsen Hildasholm) was formed to care for Hildasholm, the Munthes' Swedish home. Malcolm Munthe donated the home and the art and antiques it contains to the foundation, which operates it as a museum. It was designated a historic building in 1988, and underwent extensive restorations from 1995 through 1999. In addition to tours, the museum hosts art classes and concerts.
Malcom Munthe spent much of his life after the second world war remodeling the family's two mansions in England. His children formed the Pennington-Mellor-Munthe Charity Trust which maintains both Southside and Hellens Manor and operates them as museums, also hosting cultural events such as concerts, lectures, literary events, and so on. Members of the family still sometimes reside at these homes.
There have been at least two international symposia on Munthe, the second was held on 2003-09-13 at Hildasholm in Leksand, Sweden. Speakers included Dr. Ian McDonald, Levente Erdeos (architect, and former curator of San Michele), the Swedish author Bengt Jangfeldt, Dr. Peter Cottino (from Capri), Mårten Lindståhl, Dr.Katriona Munthe-Lindgren, and Professor Alden Smith from the Department of Classics at
Baylor University
.
Oskarshamn
Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010.-History:The location of Oskarshamn was known as Döderhultsvik since the Medieval age...
, Sweden – February 11, 1949, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
) was a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
, best known as the author of The Story of San Michele
The Story of San Michele
The Story of San Michele is a book of memoirs by Swedish physician Axel Munthe first published in 1929 by British publisher John Murray. Written in English, it was a best-seller in numerous languages and has been republished constantly in the over seven decades since its original...
, an autobiographical account of his life and work.
Axel Munthe had a multi-national character and spoke several languages (Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
fluently, and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
at least passably), growing up in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, attending medical school and opening his first practice in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was married to an English aristocrat, and spent most of his adult life in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Munthe had a philanthropic nature, often treating the poor without charge at his medical practices, and risking his life on several occasions to help in times of war, disaster, or plague when he could have remained at a safe distance. He was a tireless advocate of animal rights, purchasing land to create a bird sanctuary near his home in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, advocating bans on painful traps, and keeping pets as diverse as an owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
and a baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
, and many different kinds of dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s. His writing is light-hearted, being primarily memoirs drawn from his real-life experiences but often tinged with sad or tragic events, often using dramatic license.
He primarily wrote about people and their idiosyncrasies, portraying the foibles of both the rich and the poor and about a few animals as well.
Family
Axel Munthe's family was originally of Flemish descentFlemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
and settled in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
during the 16th century.
Early life
Munthe began college in 1874 at Uppsala UniversityUppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
.
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
from Sorrento
Sorrento
Sorrento is the name of many cities and towns:*Sorrento, Italy*Sorrento, Florida, United States*Sorrento, Louisiana, United States*Sorrento, Maine, United States*Sorrento, Victoria, a township on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia...
to the island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
. Climbing the Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n stairs to the village of Anacapri
Anacapri
Anacapri is a comune on the island of Capri, in the province of Naples, Italy. The Ancient Greek prefix ana means "up" or "above", signifying that Anacapri is located at a higher elevation on the island than Capri . Administratively, it has a separate status from the city of Capri...
, he came upon a peasant's house and the adjacent ruin of a chapel dedicated to San Michele
San Michele
San Michele is the Italian name of the Archangel Michael .Derived from the angel's name, it is the name of various locations and churches in Italy, the most well-known being* Isola di San Michele - island cemetery of Venice...
and was immediately captivated by the idea of rebuilding the ruin into a home.
Munthe studied medicine in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(where he was a student of Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot was a French neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology. He is known as "the founder of modern neurology" and is "associated with at least 15 medical eponyms", including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...
), graduating M.D. in 1880 at the age of 23. Although his thesis was on the subject of gynecology and obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
, Munthe was deeply impressed by the pioneering work in neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
done by Professor Jean-Martin Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot was a French neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology. He is known as "the founder of modern neurology" and is "associated with at least 15 medical eponyms", including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...
, having attended his lectures at the Salpêtrière hospital.
Paris and Italy
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, largely catering to the members of the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n art colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
there. In 1884 he traveled to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
to help with the cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic.
In 1887, he moved to Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
and managed to purchase the Villa San Michele
Villa San Michele
The Villa San Michele was built around the turn of the 20th century by the Swedish physician, Axel Munthe, on the ruins of the Roman Emperor Tiberius's villa, on the Isle of Capri, Italy. Its gardens have panoramic views of Capri town and its marina, the Sorrentine Peninsula and Mount Vesuvius...
and begin restoring the buildings there, doing much of the work himself, but also employing local residents, including three brothers and their father.
In 1890, running low on money for the renovations, he opened a practice in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
which catered to foreign dignitaries as well as the local population. From this time on he divided his time between Rome and Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
.
Queen Victoria of Sweden
In 1892, Munthe was appointed as physician to the Swedish royal familySwedish Royal Family
The Swedish Royal Family since 1818 consists of a number of persons in the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. They are entitled to royal titles and style , and some perform official engagements and ceremonial duties of state...
. In particular, he served as the personal physician of the Crown princess, Victoria of Baden
Victoria of Baden
Victoria of Baden was a Queen consort of Sweden by her marriage to King Gustaf V of Sweden. She was politically active in a conservative fashion during the development of democracy and known as a pro-German during the First World War.-Birth:Princess Viktoria was born on 7 August 1862 at the castle...
, and he continued in these duties while she was Queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
, up until the time of her death in 1930, although this does not mean that he was constantly in attendance on her.
Victoria suffered from severe bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
and possibly also from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Munthe recommended that she spend her winters on Capri for her health. While initially hesitant, in the autumn of 1910 she traveled to Capri, and from then on, except during the First World War and a few years towards the end of her life, she spent several months a year on Capri.
While in residence, the Queen went to the Villa San Michele many mornings in order to join Munthe for walks around the island. Munthe and the Queen also arranged evening concerts at San Michele, at which the Queen played the piano. The Queen shared Munthe's love of animals, keeping a pet dog, and helping support his efforts to purchase Mount Barbarossa to set it aside as a bird sanctuary. Perhaps inevitably given the small local population and their close friendship, it was rumored that Munthe and the Queen were lovers, but this has not been substantiated.
Further evidence of his passionate nature hinges on an affair he seems to have had with a famous English hostess, Ottoline Morrell, beginning when they first met in July or August 1898. Ottoline was then an unmarried 25-year old lady inhabiting London's privileged society yet slightly contemptuous of it. Her intellectual and spiritual interest drew her to more mature men, such as Herbert Asquith, especially if they were imbued with an air of iconoclasm. Axel Munthe and she were drawn to each other, meaningfully, and they managed to spend significant private time together in Capri. The episode is described in Sandra Jobson Darroch's biography of Ottoline, early in Chapter 2.
Marriages
Axel Munthe married his first wife, Ultima Hornberg, on 24 November 1880. Hornberg was a Swedish woman he met while she was studying art in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. They divorced in the late 1880s, and in 1892 she remarried, to a Swedish manufacturer named Gustaf Richter. She had a boy by Richter in 1893, and died in 1895.
In 1907, Munthe married an English woman, Hilda Pennington-Mellor. They had two sons, Peter and Malcolm
Malcolm Munthe
Major Malcolm Munthe MC was a British soldier, writer, and curator, and son of the famous Swedish doctor and writer Axel Munthe and his second wife Hilda Pennington-Mellor.-Early life and Second World War:...
. Hilda Munthe came from an aristocratic
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
background. Her family owned two notable properties in England: Hellens
Hellens
Hellens Manor, also known as Hellens House or simply Hellens and located in the village of Much Marcle in Herefordshire is one of the oldest dwellings in England, currently primarily composed of Tudor style architecture, but some elements may be far older.-History:The manor was granted to the de...
in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, one of the oldest dwellings in the country, and Southside House
Southside House
Southside House is a 17th century house located on the south side of Wimbledon Common. The house was built for Robert Pennington, who had shared Charles II's exile in Holland. In 1687 after losing his son to the Bubonic Plague, Pennington left London for Holme Farm, Wimbledon, which at that time...
, a 17th century mansion on Wimbledon Common in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. An anecdote relates that Munthe was discussing publication of The Story of San Michele with his publisher, John Murray
John Murray (publisher)
John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
, in the garden at Southside, and Murray related that his ancestor of the same name
John Murray (1778-1843)
John Murray was a Scottish publisher and member of the famous John Murray publishing house.The publishing house was founded by Murray's father, who died when Murray was only fifteen years old. During his youth, a partner, Samuel Highley, ran the business, but in 1803 the partnership was dissolved...
had sat in the same garden with Lord Byron, discussing publication of Byron's works.
In 1910-1911, Munthe had a 14-room summer home built in Sweden as a present for his wife. The residence, initially called Stengården (The Stone Court), has been known as Hildasholm since her death in 1967. It was built amidst the trees on the edge of Lake Siljan in Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
. It was designed by architect Torben Grut, who would in 1912 complete the Stockholm stadium
Stockholms Olympiastadion
Stockholms Olympiastadion, most often called Stockholms Stadion or just Stadion, is a stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by architect Torben Grut, it was opened in 1912, its original use was as a venue for the 1912 Olympic Games...
used in that year's Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
. Hilda landscaped the home with an English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
that combines with the rocky and dramatic native landscape. It was furnished with 17th, 18th, and 19th century art and furniture from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Mrs. Munthe and the boys usually stayed in this house during the summer, but Dr. Munthe was not there very often, spending as much time as possible at San Michele
Villa San Michele
The Villa San Michele was built around the turn of the 20th century by the Swedish physician, Axel Munthe, on the ruins of the Roman Emperor Tiberius's villa, on the Isle of Capri, Italy. Its gardens have panoramic views of Capri town and its marina, the Sorrentine Peninsula and Mount Vesuvius...
.
First World War
During the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Munthe became a British citizen and served in an ambulance corps. He wrote the book Red Cross, Iron Cross about his wartime experiences.
Later life
In 1919-1920, Munthe was an unwilling landlord to the outrageous socialite and muse Luisa CasatiLuisa Casati
Luisa, Marquise Casati Stampa di Soncino was an eccentric Italian heiress, muse, and patroness of the arts in early 20th century Europe...
, who took possession of Villa San Michele. This was described by Scottish author Compton Mackenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
in his diaries.
Munthe developed an eye malady which eventually made him virtually blind and unable to tolerate the bright Italian sunlight. At this point he returned to Sweden for a number of years and wrote The Story of San Michele
The Story of San Michele
The Story of San Michele is a book of memoirs by Swedish physician Axel Munthe first published in 1929 by British publisher John Murray. Written in English, it was a best-seller in numerous languages and has been republished constantly in the over seven decades since its original...
(published in 1929), which was well received, having been translated into at least forty-five languages and said to be one of the best-selling books of the 20th century.
An operation restored his sight, and he spent several more years at San Michele before returning to Sweden in 1942. He spent the final years of his life as an official guest of the King of Sweden.
During the Second World War, Munthe's son Malcolm Pennington Mellor Munthe served with the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
, working behind Nazi lines in occupied Scandinavia, and later participating in the Allied invasion at Anzio
Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
. Malcolm was seriously wounded during the war and eventually became reclusive.
Medical outlook
Munthe tried to avoid prescription medication for his psychological cases whenever possible, often recommending hypnosis, music, and other alternative medical approaches. He was peripherally involved in Louis Pasteur's search for a rabiesRabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
. He believed in euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
in hopeless medical situations, such as rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
, where the patients had only a period of intense pain and insanity ahead of them.
Publications
The Story of San MicheleThe Story of San Michele
The Story of San Michele is a book of memoirs by Swedish physician Axel Munthe first published in 1929 by British publisher John Murray. Written in English, it was a best-seller in numerous languages and has been republished constantly in the over seven decades since its original...
overshadows Munthe's other publications, and includes material from some of his earlier work. His earlier work can be very difficult to find and often commands high prices, but at least one book has entered the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
and is now freely available.
Other than his thesis, his first publications covered a number of travel discourses which appeared in the Stockholms Dagblad newspaper, and which described his experiences of relief work during the cholera epidemic in Naples. These discourses came out in book form in England in 1887as Letters From A Mourning City (Naples, Autumn, 1884), 289 pages, John Murray and Sons Publishers, London. This was translated from Swedish to English by Maude Valerie White. ASIN
Amazon Standard Identification Number
The Amazon Standard Identification Number is a unique identification number assigned by Amazon.com and its partners for product identification within the Amazon.com organization. Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.cn, and Amazon.es also use ASINs.ASINs...
for the second edition, published in 1889, is B00087WVNO. Munthe translated this from Swedish to English himself.
Vagaries
Memories and Vagaries
Memories and Vagaries is a collection of short memoirs and essays by Axel Munthe.It has been published in several languages and editions, with differing contents and ordering....
was initially published in London in 1898 and is now public domain http://books.google.com/books?id=PhVkxZaJAzMC. It was retitled Memories and Vagaries and a second edition printed in 1908. In 1930 there was a third edition, containing an added preface and a slightly different selection of stories with slightly different ordering.
Red Cross, Iron Cross was published anonymously, credited as "by a doctor in France", in London in 1916 with all proceeds going to the French Red Cross, and details some of his experiences during the First World War. A second edition, credited to Munthe, was published around 1930.
Publications in languages other than English
- Små Skizzer, Stockholm, 1888
- Bref och Skizzer, Stockholm, 1909
Letters From A Mourning City was published in Swedish in 1885 and in Italian in 1910.
Memories and Vagaries
Memories and Vagaries
Memories and Vagaries is a collection of short memoirs and essays by Axel Munthe.It has been published in several languages and editions, with differing contents and ordering....
seems to have very different titles in other languages, often
being titled roughly An Old Book of Man and Beasts; see that article for more information.
Legacy
Several of Munthe's properties are now museums and cultural centers.Axel Munthe willed Villa San Michele to the Swedish nation, and it is maintained by a Swedish foundation. The complex functions as a cultural center, hosting concerts, visiting Swedish scholars, and the local Swedish consulate. The foundation also maintains the Mount Barbarossa bird sanctuary, which covers over 55,000 square meters.
In 1980, a foundation (Stiftelsen Hildasholm) was formed to care for Hildasholm, the Munthes' Swedish home. Malcolm Munthe donated the home and the art and antiques it contains to the foundation, which operates it as a museum. It was designated a historic building in 1988, and underwent extensive restorations from 1995 through 1999. In addition to tours, the museum hosts art classes and concerts.
Malcom Munthe spent much of his life after the second world war remodeling the family's two mansions in England. His children formed the Pennington-Mellor-Munthe Charity Trust which maintains both Southside and Hellens Manor and operates them as museums, also hosting cultural events such as concerts, lectures, literary events, and so on. Members of the family still sometimes reside at these homes.
There have been at least two international symposia on Munthe, the second was held on 2003-09-13 at Hildasholm in Leksand, Sweden. Speakers included Dr. Ian McDonald, Levente Erdeos (architect, and former curator of San Michele), the Swedish author Bengt Jangfeldt, Dr. Peter Cottino (from Capri), Mårten Lindståhl, Dr.Katriona Munthe-Lindgren, and Professor Alden Smith from the Department of Classics at
Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
.