Maj Sjöwall (; 25 September 1935 – 29 April 2020) was a Swedish author and translator. She is best known for her novels about the police detective Martin Beck. She wrote these novels in collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö.
Biography
Maj Sjöwall was the daughter of Margit Trobäck and CEO Will Sjöwall.
After completing school, Sjöwall was employed at Åhlén & Åkerlunds publishers between 1954 and 1959; Wahlström & Widstrands publishers between 1959 and 1961; and then Esselte publishers between 1961 and 1963.
Sjöwall was best known for the collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö on a series of ten novels about the exploits of Martin Beck, a police detective in Stockholm. They also wrote several novels separately. The fourth of the Beck novels, Den skrattande polisen, was published in 1968; a translation of this novel, The Laughing Policeman, won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America in 1971. This novel was also adapted into the film The Laughing Policeman, starring Walter Matthau.
After the death of Wahlöö, Sjöwall continued working as a translator, writing columns for magazines and as an author. With Danish author Bjarne Nielsen, she published the novel Dansk Intermezzo in 1989. In 1990, she and author Tomas Ross published the thriller Kvinnan som liknade Greta Garbo.
Personal life
Sjöwall married her first husband, magazine editor Gunnar Isaksson, in 1955, and they divorced in 1958.
Sjöwall died on 29 April 2020, at the age of 84, after a prolonged illness.
Bibliography
Martin Beck novels written with Per Wahlöö
- Roseanna (1965)
- Mannen som gick upp i rök (1966)
- Kvinnan som liknade Greta Garbo (1990). Written jointly with Tomas Ross. The best-known portrayal of Beck is by actor Peter Haber, who has appeared in 42 films or TV episodes in the role.