Voltaire
Kaarle XII:n historia
"Kaarle XII:n historia" by Voltaire is a book published in 1731 about Swedish King Charles XII and the Great Northern War. Voltaire presents a positive portrait of the Swedish monarch, portraying him as a counterweight to Peter the Great's brutality and unjust warfare. Through his literary style emphasizing narrative tension and elegant prose, Voltaire created what became the first major work on Charles XII's life—an adventure story that shaped Swedish historical tradition, introducing anecdotes and details that persist in historiography to this day.