Axel Munthe

Born in Oskarshamn, Sweden, in 1857, Axel Munthe trained in medicine in Sweden and Paris and went on to work as a physician in places including Paris and Rome. He is best remembered today as the author of The Story of San Michele (1929), an autobiographical book that brought him an international readership.

Munthe’s life was unusually wide-ranging. Alongside his medical work, he became closely associated with Capri, where he built Villa San Michele, the place most strongly linked with his name and his writing. Reliable biographical sources also note that he served as physician to Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria, later Queen Victoria.

What still draws readers to Munthe is the tone of his work: humane, reflective, and full of memorable scenes from a doctor’s life. His books often carry the same qualities that made his memoir famous—curiosity about the world, sympathy for suffering, and a strong sense of place.