Bengtsson began as a poet, with his debut work
Tärningkast (Throwing Dice) published in 1923. In 1929, he published his first essay collection titled
Litteratörer och Militärer (Writers and Warriors) with contributions on
François Villon,
Walter Scott,
Joseph Conrad, and
Stonewall Jackson; he would publish four more collections during the rest of his career. His essays mainly dealt with literary and historical subjects. A selection was translated into English in 1950 and published as
A Walk to an Ant Hill and Other Essays. His biography on the Swedish king
Charles XII (
Karl XII:s levnad) 1932 is his
magnum opus. He describes the king through excerpts from contemporary diaries by officers and common soldiers, and from a wealth of quotes from the published literature. Bengtsson's work draws heavily on the biography of Charles XII by
Voltaire published in 1731, thirteen years after the king’s death. Later, Bengtsson became widely known for his
Viking saga novel
Röde Orm (
The Long Ships), published in two parts in 1941 and 1945. The hero Orm, later called Röde Orm (Red Snake) because of his red beard, is kidnapped as a boy onto a raiding ship and leads an exciting life
in the Mediterranean area around the year AD 1000. Later, he makes an expedition eastward into
Gardarike.
The Long Ships was later adapted into
a film. Bengtsson once said: "
Joan of Arc,
Charles XII, and
Garibaldi are the persons I would like to meet - for them the truth was more important than intrigues." ==Personal life==