Editing Charles XII of Sweden (section)

===Literature===
Charles fascinated many in his time. In 1731, [[Voltaire]] wrote a biography of Charles XII, ''[[History of Charles XII]]''. Voltaire portrays the Swedish king in a positive light, against the brutal nature of [[Peter the Great]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Voltaire|title=The History of Charles XII. King of Sweden ... Seventh edition... |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=169VAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1|year=1740|page=1}}</ref> The English man of letters [[Samuel Johnson]] wrote of Charles in his poem "The Vanity of Human Wishes":{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
{{Blockquote |
On what Foundation stands the warrior's pride,<br/>
How just his hopes let Swedish Charles decide;<br/>
A frame of adamant, a soul of fire,<br/>
No dangers fright him, and no labours tire;<br/>
O'er love, o'er fear, extends his wide domain,<br/>
Unconquered lord of pleasure and of pain;<br/>
No joys to him pacific sceptres yield;<br/>
[[Great Northern War|War sounds the trump]], he rushes to the field;<br/>
Behold surrounding kings their power to combine,<br/>
And one capitulate, and one resign;<br/>
Peace courts his hand, but spreads her charms in vain;<br/>
"Think nothing gained", he cries, "till nought remain,<br/>
On [[Moscow]]'s walls till Gothic standards fly,<br/>
And all be mine beneath the polar sky."<br/>
The march begins in military state,<br/>
And nations on his eye suspended wait;<br/>
Stern Famine guards the solitary coast,<br/>
And Winter barricades the realms of Frost;<br/>
He comes, not want and cold his course delay; -<br/>
Hide, blushing Glory, hide [[Battle of Poltava|Pultowa's day]]:<br/>
The vanquished hero leaves his broken bands,<br/>
And shows his miseries in distant lands;<br/>
Condemned a needy supplicant to wait,<br/>
While ladies interpose, and slaves debate.<br/>
But did not Chance at length her error mend?<br/>
Did no subverted empire mark his end?<br/>
Did rival monarchs give the fatal wound?<br/>
Or hostile millions press him to the ground?<br/>
His fall was destined to a barren strand,<br/>
[[Siege of Fredriksten|A petty fortress]], and a dubious hand;<br/>
He left the name, at which the world grew pale,<br/>
To point a moral or adorn a tale.
}}
Swedish author Frans G. Bengtsson and Professor Ragnhild Hatton have written biographies of Charles XII of Sweden.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bengtsson|first1=Frans G.|title=Karl XII:s Levnad|year=1994|publisher=Norstedts|isbn=978-9119418326}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hatton|first1=Ragnhild Marie|title=Charles XII of Sweden|url=https://archive.org/details/charlesxiiofswed00hatt|url-access=registration|date=1968|location=London|isbn=978-0297748267|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Voltaire|title=History of Charles XII, King of Sweden|date=1731}}</ref>

In 1938, [[E. M. Almedingen]] wrote ''The Lion of the North: Charles XII, King of Sweden''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The lion of the north : Charles XII – King of Sweden (Book, 1938) |publisher= |oclc = 1063928075}}</ref>

Charles XII figures quite prominently in [[Robert Massie]]'s magnum opus [[Peter the Great: His Life and World|''Peter the Great'']].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Massie|first1=Robert K.|title=Peter the Great: His Life and World|date=1981|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York City|isbn=0-345-29806-3|pages=Part 3–4}}</ref>