Torsten Ekstrom

A Swedish author of children's books and plays, member of the S group and a possible identification for V.M. Straka.

He was a robust man, blond-grey with a big nose and he was very vain about his well-groomed moustache. Except of Swedish, he spoke English and basic French.

Stenfalk from Ship of Theseus is probably based on him.

Biography
He was born in 1868 around the same time as Reinhold Feuerbach and they were both much older than their peers.

In his youth he was in the swim club in the Uppsala University, noted for his strength and endurance. During those years he write only few letters in which he discussed his political views, which suggest that he was fairly conservative. Generally he had only a passing interest in political/economic issues.

In his younger days he has been a well-traveled outdoorsman and adventurer. Even later in life he remained an expert sailor and legendarily strong swimmer.

After graduating with a zoology degree, he began legal studies, married, and had a son in Stockholm. His close friend Fridtjof Nansen invited him to his 1893 expedition to the North Pole. Against his wife's wishes, Ekstrom left home and spent many months assisting in preparations, but his plans were cut when during skiing he shattered his leg.

Returning home he found that his family abandoned him, and it is believed that he never saw them again. He took up writing as an escape from "the darkest gray of sadnesses", as he called it.

He became a celebrated public figure of high social status and income. In 1909 Nansen publicly admonished him to use his fame, wealth and talents to advance the common good.

According to Jean-Bernard Desjardins's documents, the names "T. Stenfalk" and "A. Corbeau" appear registered in the Hotel Voliery, Prague, the day when Vaclav Straka committed suicide. It is possible that Ekstrom visited the hotel with Amarante Durand.

He maintained a profile of seriousness and moderation. He kept his personal life guarded, except some rumors of discreet (undocumented) affairs with Italian opera singer Ottavia Poggi and the much younger Amarante Durand. According to his travel diary, in October '21 he visited Alexandria where he met Durand. The two had also a dinner with Guthrie MacInnes.

In later years he became a recluse shunning public life.

In May 1929 he wrote in his journal that their friend A. (A. Rabe?) is like a son to him and he is grateful to Ekstrom.

Around that time A. stayed long in hospital. In October 130 Victor Martin Summersby wrote Ektrom a letter saying he was distressed about it and sent his wishes. In November, A. visited him and he cried.

In 1930 he left S group. He was weak and sick and the next year he was in Paris for health reasons. He is registered as "S. Fortunus" at hotel La Grande Horloge, across the street from the Deux Matres.

Despite his condition he was in good spirits and hoped to return to work by springtime. However he died in January, by falling from the hotel's balcony. He left a paper on his nightstand mentioning Dr. Molyneux and hundreds of anagrams. A detective recognised 7 different languages in the code. It remains unclear if his death was accidental or a suicide.

Works
Ekstrom wrote strikingly light-hearted, whimsical tales of adventure and moral scrupulousness. They not only proved an immediate sensation, but remained classics for today's Scandinavian schoolchidren.

His works include Hedda and the Bear-King, White Oak Chronicles (1901), The Prince of Ankarsvik (1906) where a Prince is exiled for letting a commoner freeze to death.

According to Summersby, who claimed to be Straka, he wrote the Miracle at Braxenholm with Ekstrom's help.

Legacy
It is suggested that Straka probably gave the anagrams to Ekstrom, thus leading the agents to him, who threw him from the balcony; if this is the case, Straka was probably feeling guilty about his death.

Durand was also affected and changed after Ekstrom's death.

Almstedt wrote Ekstrom: A life in 1962.

There are many common elements (images, phrases, even sentence structure) between his works and Straka's. Critic Evelyn Stanhope pioneered the theory that Ekstrom was Straka, and he remains one of the most plausible candidates. Stanhope argued that Nansen's admonition was what inspired Ekstrom to create the penname V.M. Straka, which he used to secretly write dark political and subversive adult novels. She notes strong similarities between the two authors's styles. Some also noted that Ekstrom's productivity diminished during Straka's most prolific years.

However 7 Straka novels were published after Ekstrom's death with contemporary details, suggesting that either another author took the penname, or that those were written by Ekstrom beforehand, with adjustments made later by editors.

Jean-Bernard Desjardins also believes that Ekstrom was closely connected to Straka, if not himself. Eric Husch considers him the likeliest candidate for Straka, along with Victor Martin Summersby.

Scans of his diary are in the Ekstrom Archive in Stockholm.