Axel Munthe: Difference between revisions

'''Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe''' (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born physician and psychiatrist, best known as the author of ''[[The Story of San Michele]]'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several languages (Swedish, English, French, Italian fluently, and German at least passably), grew up in Sweden, attended medical school there, then studied medicine in Paris and opened his first practice in France. He was married to ana Englishwealthy aristocratEnglishwoman and spent most of his adult life in Italy.

His philanthropic nature often led him to treat the poor without charge, and he risked his life on several occasions to offer medical help in times of war, disaster, or plague. As an advocate of animal rights, he purchased land to create a bird sanctuary near his home in Italy, argued for bans on painful traps, and himself kept pets as diverse as an owl and a baboon, as well as many types of dog. His writing is light-hearted, being primarily memoirs drawn from his real-life experiences, but it is often tinged with sadness or tragedy, and often uses [[dramatic licence]]. He primarily wrote about people and their idiosyncrasies, portraying the foibles of both the rich and the poor, but also about animals.

Axel Munthe was born in [[Oskarshamn]], Sweden, his family's home.<ref name="MuntheMunthe1953">{{cite book|author1=Gustaf Lorentz Munthe|author2=Lorentz Munthe|author3=Gudrun von Uexküll|title=Buch von Axel Munthe. English|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTU3AAAAIAAJ|year=1953|publisher=John Murray|page=9}}</ref> His family was originally of [[Flemish people|Flemish descent]], and settled in Sweden during the 16th century.

The eldest was Anna (b. 1854) who married twice. At 21 she married the painter [[Reinhold Norstedt]], during which times her flower paintings were exhibited in the National Galleries and other galleries. After Reinhold NorstedtsNorstedt's death in 1911, she married Frans Siberg., a veterinarian.

The second child was Arnold a future Artist, Author, playwright and Retired Swedish Naval Captain (# - 1927) who served with the French Imperial Fleet produced and wrote several renown plays Magnus Stenbok <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Magnus_Stenbock</ref> , Magdalena Rudenskiold <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Magdalena-Rudensch%C3%B6ld/6000000007673978404|title=Magdalena Charlotta Rudenschöld|website=geni_family_tree|accessdate=19 September 2018}}</ref> and The March over the Belt. Arnold also wrote the several Naval books including Charles XII and the Russian Navy and the textbooks Swedish Naval Heroes series.

After graduation, Munthe opened a medical practice in Paris, largely catering to the members of the [[Scandinavia]]n [[art colony]] there. He for example rented a Paris apartment to Finnish painter [[Albert Edelfelt]] and his wife.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vainio-Kurtakko |first=Maria |url=https://www.sls.fi/publications/ett-gott-parti/ |title=Ett gott parti : Scener ur Ellan de la Chapelles och Albert Edelfelts liv |publisher=Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland |year=2022 |isbn=978-951-583-557-4 |language=sv}}</ref> In 1884 he travelled to [[Naples]] to offer medical assistance in a [[cholera]] epidemic.

Young [[Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890–1958)|Princess Maria]], who by request of King [[Gustaf V of Sweden]] twice stayed with her mother-in-law the Queen and Munthe at Capri, found his influence damaging and his powers [[Hypnotism|hypnotic]]. Years later she asserted that he wanted her to be his patient at age 23 and made physical advances toward her, and that the horror she then felt toward the Swedish royal family, because of their unlimited support of Munthe, was the main reason she fled them and filed for divorce from [[Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland|Prince Wilhelm]].<ref>[[Lennart Bernadotte]] in ''Käre prins, godnatt!'' {{ISBN|91-0-041935-4}} pp. 155-158</ref>

Munthe has been described as less interested in the health of his patients than in his own convenience and fame, and his having Victoria travel to Capri, and stay there for months in that particular climate, has been considered more detrimental than beneficial to her health.<ref>Sir [[:sv:Gustaf von Platen|Gustaf von Platen]] in ''Bakom den gyllene fasaden'' [[Bonniers]] {{ISBN|91-0-058048-1}} p 114</ref>

Other indication of his passionate nature concerns an affair he is believed to have had with the English socialite Lady [[Ottoline Morrell]], beginning when they first met in July or August 1898. Ottoline was then an unmarried 25-year-old member of the privileged London social scene, while being at the same time slightly contemptuous of it. Her intellectual and spiritual interests drew her to more mature men, such as Herbert[[H. H. Asquith]], particularly if they had a reputation for iconoclasm. She and Axel Munthe were drawn to each other, and managed to spend significantmuch private time together on Capri.<ref>Sandra Jobson Darroch, ''Ottoline: The life of Lady Ottoline Morrell'' (1975), chapter 2</ref>

In 1907, Munthe married an English aristocrat, Hilda Pennington-Mellor (1876–1967). Her family owned two notable properties: [[Hellens]] in Herefordshire, one of the oldest dwellings in the country, and [[Southside House]], a 17th-century mansion on [[Wimbledon Common]] in London. They had two sons, Peter and [[Malcolm Munthe|Malcolm]]. There is an anecdote that when Munthe was discussing ''The Story of San Michele'' with his publisher, [[John Murray (publisherpublishing house)|John Murray]], in the garden at Southside, Murray told him that his ancestor and namesake [[John Murray (1778–1843)]] had sat in the same garden with [[Lord Byron]] to discuss publication of Byron's works.

Munthe died at Stockholm Palace aged 91. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered into the North Sea. A memorial plaque overabout him and his family can be found at the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.

''The Story of San Michele'' overshadows all Munthe's other publications, and includes material from some earlier works. 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.

''[[Memories and Vagaries|Vagaries]]'' was first published in London in 1898, and is now in the public domain.[https://archive.org/details/vagaries00muntgoog]. It was retitled ''Memories and Vagaries'' in a second edition printed in 1908. In 1930 there was a third edition, containing an added preface and a slightly different selection of stories in a different order.

[[File:Overlooking Capri harbour from the rotunda in Villa San Michele Anacapri 2013.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Capri]] harbour, from rotunda, [[Villa San Michele]]]]

There have been at least two international symposia on Munthe, the second being held at ''Hildasholm'' in [[Leksand]], Sweden, on 13 September 2003. 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]].

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190225030638/http://www.southsidehouse.com/ Southside House]

*[https://archive.today/20130708054903/http://catnyp.nypl.org/record=b1007022 New York Public Library catalog page for ''Letters From A Mourning City'']

*{{Gutenberg author | id=Munthe,+Axel 39701| name=Axel Munthe}}

[[Category:Swedish military physiciansdoctors]]

[[Category:Swedish expatriatesExpatriates in France]]

[[Category:Swedish expatriatesExpatriates in Italy]]

[[Category:BritishImmigrants peopleto ofthe SwedishUnited descentKingdom]]

[[Category:BritishSwedish expatriatespeople inof ItalyBelgian descent]]