In this volume, Strindberg"s accomplishments as a dramatist are set against his achievements in other fields, as an autobiographer, painter, letter writer, and theatre director. There are studies of individual plays, in which Strindberg"s theatre is related to both naturalism and the theatre of the absurd, and of the role played by his life-long interest in historical drama. Other essays range from studies of the problems posed by Strindberg"s preoccupation with converting his own life into literature to a consideration of the importance he placed on letter writing as a model for writing of all kinds.