Stieg Larsson was a Swedish journalist and author who spent his career investigating far-right extremism and exposing neo-Nazi networks in Sweden. He founded and edited the magazine Expo, which monitored extremist groups, and was a leading authority on far-right movements in Europe. Larsson wrote the Millennium trilogy - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest - in his spare time, reportedly to relax. He submitted all three manuscripts to his publisher shortly before his death from a heart attack in November 2004, aged 50, never knowing the global phenomenon he had created. The trilogy was published posthumously between 2005 and 2007, selling over 100 million copies worldwide. Lisbeth Salander became one of the most iconic characters in contemporary crime fiction. The series has been adapted twice for film and once for television.