Anton Holtz

Anton Holtz (1881–1967) is a little-documented Swedish writer best known for Ett pennskaft som piga, published in 1915. Swedish library records also list Bonn i Taninge as an alternative name, suggesting he wrote under that pseudonym as well.

His best-known book is closely tied to Ester Blenda Nordström’s celebrated En piga bland pigor. Holtz’s work is generally described as a response to Nordström’s portrayal of farm service, which gives it an unusual place in early 20th-century Swedish literature: not just as a story, but as part of a public conversation about working life in the countryside.

Because biographical information about him is scarce in the sources available here, much of his personal life remains unclear. What does stand out is the distinct historical value of his writing: it preserves a contemporary rural voice answering back to a widely discussed account of class and domestic labor.