The Song of the Blood-Red Flower

The Song of the Blood-Red Flower (Finnish: Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta) is a romance novel by Finnish writer Johannes Linnankoski, published in 1905; and is considered the author's most famous and personal work. Loosely based on the legend of Don Juan, it tells the story of a young log driver who charms women. It was awarded the State Prize for Literature in 1906, and was also given an award by the Finnish Literature Society. An English version, translated by W. J. Alexander Worster, was first published in 1921 by Moffat, Yard & Co in New York.

There are five film adaptations of the story (three Swedish and two Finnish); the earliest is the 1919 Swedish silent film The Flame of Life, directed by Mauritz Stiller, and the latest is the 1971 Finnish film adaptation directed by Mikko Niskanen, which is the only color film version. A large number of stage plays have also been made based on the novel, such as H. Välisalmi's play by the Estonian Drama Theatre in 1938, and three Finnish plays at the Pyynikki Summer Theatre, Tampere in 1960, 1981 and 2005.