author
Rudolf Rikhard Ruth
1889–1957
A Finnish journalist and novelist who helped bring detective fiction and early science fiction into Finnish-language literature, he wrote fast-moving stories under several pen names. His life was as varied as his fiction, stretching from work on Lake Saimaa to journalism and private investigation in Helsinki.
1 Audiobook
Viimeisellä hetkellä: Seikkailuromaani tulevaisilta ajoilta
by Rudolf Rikhard Ruth
About the author
Born in Savonlinna on July 6, 1889, Rudolf Rikhard Ruth became known as a journalist, writer, and an early pioneer of Finnish-language detective and science fiction. He also published under pen names including Rikhard Hornanlinna and H. R. Halli.
Before settling into literary work, he left school before graduation and worked in a range of jobs, including as a ship's boy on Lake Saimaa. Later in Helsinki he worked in offices, as a journalist and columnist, and even as a private detective, experiences that likely helped shape the brisk, worldly tone of his fiction.
Ruth died in Helsinki on January 15, 1957. He is remembered especially for helping open the way for popular genre writing in Finnish, bringing crime stories and speculative adventures to readers at a time when those fields were still taking shape.