Martti Löfberg
Encyclopedia
Martti Erik Hjalmar Löfberg (March 5, 1907, Helsinki
- February 1969) was a successful Finnish
pulp fiction
author, especially in the 1930s and the 1940s. Though writing his adventure stories, science fiction
and mystery novels under a long list of pseudonyms, the one he was best known for was Marton Taiga.
Martti Löfbergs father was the owner of a sizeable sporting goods store, importing bicycle
s from Chemnitz
, and the son was planned to enter the family business. However he death of his father and subsequent bankruptcy of the sporting goods store liberated Martti to pursue his literary career.
During his heyday Marton Taiga was one of the best selling writers, if not the highest earner of them, but self effacing to a fault, and thus nearly completely unknown to the general public as a person beyond his pseudonymous works.
His good friend Aarne Haapakoski
was a major influence on him, and he in turn influenced other authors such as Mika Waltari
, whose "Komisario Palmu" character drew significantly on Löfbergs police character William J. Kairala. The Kairala stories were published under the pseudonym M. Levä.
Another long running character of his was the intrepid newspaper reporter Kid Barrow (known by his nickname "Carrot"); a Tintin
esque character.
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
- February 1969) was a successful Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
author, especially in the 1930s and the 1940s. Though writing his adventure stories, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and mystery novels under a long list of pseudonyms, the one he was best known for was Marton Taiga.
Martti Löfbergs father was the owner of a sizeable sporting goods store, importing bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s from Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, and the son was planned to enter the family business. However he death of his father and subsequent bankruptcy of the sporting goods store liberated Martti to pursue his literary career.
During his heyday Marton Taiga was one of the best selling writers, if not the highest earner of them, but self effacing to a fault, and thus nearly completely unknown to the general public as a person beyond his pseudonymous works.
His good friend Aarne Haapakoski
Aarne Haapakoski
Aarne Haapakoski was a Finnish pulp writer. He is perhaps best known for a detective fiction series about architect/detective "Klaus Karma" and a science fiction series about a robot named "Atorox." The Atorox stories were written under the pseudonym Outsider. The Atorox Award for Finnish science...
was a major influence on him, and he in turn influenced other authors such as Mika Waltari
Mika Waltari
Mika Toimi Waltari was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel The Egyptian .- Early life :...
, whose "Komisario Palmu" character drew significantly on Löfbergs police character William J. Kairala. The Kairala stories were published under the pseudonym M. Levä.
Another long running character of his was the intrepid newspaper reporter Kid Barrow (known by his nickname "Carrot"); a Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
esque character.
Selected bibliography
- Mustan Lipun Ritarit, (serialised 1932 in Lukemista Kaikille magazine, published as a book 1937) an adventure story set in AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Marton Taigas first novel. Dramatized for radio by YleisradioYleisradioThe Finnish Broadcasting Company , abbreviated to YLE , is Finland's national broadcasting company, founded in 1926. YLE is a public-broadcasting organization which shares many of its characteristics with its British counterpart, the BBC, on which it was largely modelled...
. - Osiriksen Sormus, (serialized 1934) a time travel novel with ancient EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
as the milieu. - 8 Taivaallista Miestä, (serialized, republished in book form 1986)