He participated, and often succeeded, in literary competitions to prove the quality of his work to critics. It has been claimed that he also suffered from insomnia and depression, sometimes to the extent of needing hospital treatment. He had a very busy schedule and strict work ethic. At the same time, he kept writing books in many genres, moving easily from one literary field to another. He directed the magazine Suomen Kuvalehti. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Waltari worked hectically as a journalist and critic, writing for a number of newspapers and magazines and travelling widely in Europe. He was married in 1931 and had a daughter, Satu, who also became a writer.

Waltari also was, for a while, a member of the liberal literary movement Tulenkantajat, though his political and social views later turned conservative. (In Waltari's historical novel The Adventurer, taking place in the 16th century, the hero is a Finn who goes to Paris during his twenties and lives there a rather bohemian life). In terms of style, the novel is considered to be the Finnish equivalent to the works of the American writers of the Lost Generation. In 1927 he went to Paris where he wrote his first major novel Suuri illusioni ('The Grand Illusion'), a story of bohemian life. While studying, he contributed to various magazines and wrote poetry and stories, getting his first book published in 1925. Later he enrolled in the University of Helsinki as a theology student, according to his mother's wishes, but soon abandoned theology in favour of philosophy, aesthetics and literature, graduating in 1929. As a boy, he witnessed the Finnish Civil War in Helsinki. Waltari was born in Helsinki and lost his father, a Lutheran pastor, at the age of five. In terms of style, the novel is considered to be Mika Toimi Waltari was a Finnish historical novelist, best known for his magnum opus The Egyptian.

Mika Toimi Waltari was a Finnish historical novelist, best known for his magnum opus The Egyptian.

The Egyptian by Mika Waltari