Ågot Gjems Selmer, also Ågot Gjems-Selmer, (27 October 1857 – 25 September 1926) was a Norwegian actress, writer, and lecturer.

Biography

Gjems-Selmer was born into a wealthy family in

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

, Norway. She was the eldest of nine siblings born to Svend Jørgen Gjems and Johanne Rolfsen. As a 12-year-old, the family relocated to Kristiania (now Oslo). She graduated in 1876 she decided to become an actor. In 1883, she married physician, Alfred Selmer (1851–1919) who became the first resident district physician in Balsfjord in the

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

region of Norway. After nineteen years, they moved to Ås in

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

. They had eight children, five reaching adulthood, including the singer

Tordis Gjems Selmer Tordis Gjems Selmer (June 2, 1886 – February 15, 1964) was a Norwegian singer. Selmer was born in Balsfjord, Norway, the son of the district physician Alfred Selmer and the actress and writer Ågot Gjems Selmer. She was the sister of the actor ...

(1886–1964), actor Alfred Gjems Selmer (1893–1919), and actor and writer

Lillemor von Hanno Lillemor von Hanno (née Bergljot Selmer; 30 December 1900 – 5 April 1984) was a Norwegian actress, novelist and playwright. Personal life Von Hanno was born in Balsfjord, the daughter of the actress Ågot Gjems Selmer (1858–1926) and the ...

(1900–1984). While working as an actress, Gjems-Selmer performed at the Christiania Theatre, where in 1883, she played the role of Petra in the staging of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''

An Enemy of the People ''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende''), an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, followed his previous play, ''Ghosts'', which criticized the hypocrisy of his society's moral code. That response inclu ...

'', attracting critical acclaim. She wrote a total of ten books, some translated into several languages including German, Dutch and Hungarian. Some were based on memories of her own childhood in

. These included ''Da mor var liten'' (When Mother was Little), describing how she became acquainted with Norwegian cultural celebrities including Jonas Lie, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson,

Ole Bull Ole Bornemann Bull (; 5 February 181017 August 1880) was a Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer. According to Robert Schumann, he was on a level with Niccolò Paganini for the speed and clarity of his playing. Biography Background Bull was ...

, Aasmund Olavsson Vinje and Erik Werenskiold. Later, when she and her husband lived in Balsfjord for 19 years, her wrote about family life in the far north. One of her works was published in Germany (with several reprints) as ''Die Docktorsfamilie im Hohen Norden'' (The Doctor's Family in the Far North). While Gjems-Selmer was not among the leading Norwegian authors of her day, she was a recognized female intellectual and a useful source of detailed information. She was also active in the area of women's rights, supporting votes for women. After both her husband and their son died in 1919, she retired to Villa Soleglad at Ås in Akershus where she died in 1926.

Selected works

* ''Smaapigernes bog'' (1900) * ''Et hjem for mennesker: en Menneskeskildring i tre Handlinger'' (1901) * ''Da mor var liden'' (1902) * ''Kvinderne i Bjørnsons digtning. Essay'' (1907) * ''Lillemor'' - (1911) * ''Den gang -. Af mit livs digt'' (1915) * ''Mor fortæller'' (1915)

References

Other sources

*Lill-Karin Elvestad (2019) ''Ågot Gjems Selmer (1857-1926)'' (Orkana Akademisk) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gjems Selmer, Agot 1857 births 1926 deaths People from Kongsvinger 19th-century Norwegian actresses Norwegian children's writers Norwegian women children's writers 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian actresses 20th-century Norwegian women writers Norwegian stage actresses