Anne-Cath. Vestly (15 February 1920 – 15 December 2008) was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
author of
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
. She is known for a wide range of books published from 1953 to 2004. Vestly was best known for her series about a grandmother (''Mormor'') who looked after and shared numerous adventures with a flock of eight children.
Biography
Vestly was born Anne Catharina Schulerud in the village of
Rena in
Ã…mot
Åmot is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rena. Other villages in the municipality include Åsta, Osneset, an ...
municipality in
Hedmark
Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar.
Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged i ...
, Norway. She was the daughter of Mentz Oliver Schulerud (1877–1931) and Aagot Schulerud (1875–1957). Her father was a pharmacist and owned a hardware store. Her mother was a schoolteacher. Vestly took her
Examen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...
at
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
in 1939. She then moved with her mother to
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, where she studied at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
, attended trade school, and became involved in amateur theater work.
She came into contact with radio programming in 1946 through her brother
Mentz Schulerud
Mentz Schulerud (19 October 1915 – 18 May 2003) was a Norwegian author, radio personality and theatre director. He was known for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the city of Oslo.
Schulerud was born in Kristiania, but grew up in Rena, Lille ...
, who was employed as program secretary at Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). Vestly soon started her career with children's entertainment on the radio and television. Most of her books were first presented as readings on the NRK program ''Barnetimen for de minste''. She also co-starred with
Alf Prøysen
Alf Prøysen () (23 July 1914 – 23 November 1970) was a Norwegian author, poet, playwright, songwriter and musician.
Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the 20th century. He wor ...
in ''Kanutten og Romeo Klive'' (1963), a popular children's television show on NRK.
Vestly's first book, ''Ole Aleksander Filibom-bom-bom'', eventually developed into a twelve-volume series. She challenged the traditional
gender roles
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
in the "Aurora" series (1966–1972), in which she depicts a family where the mother works as a lawyer, while the father, an
ancient history
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
candidate, stays at home with their two children.
Vestly's most famous work, ''Eight Children and a Truck'' (''Åtte små, to store og en lastebil'' in Norwegian), concerns a family with eight children living in a small apartment in Oslo. It was the first in a series of nine books, the last of which was published in 2000, about the children’s maternal grandmother (''Mormor''). The series is known as the "Eight Children" series in English (''Mormor og de åtte ungene'' in Norwegian) and was published in English translation by
Methuen Publishing
Methuen Publishing Ltd is an English publishing house. It was founded in 1889 by Sir Algernon Methuen (1856–1924) and began publishing in London in 1892. Initially Methuen mainly published non-fiction academic works, eventually diversifying to ...
. Several of Vestly's books were adapted to film. She also worked as an actress, playing the role of Grandma on television and in the screen versions, ''Mormor og de åtte ungene i byen'' (1977) and ''Mormor og de åtte ungene i skogen'' (1979).
Personal life
In 1946, she married
Johan Vestly (1923-1993). They were the parents of two sons: Jo (born 1948) and HÃ¥kon (born 1957). Vestly's husband illustrated all her books until his death in 1993. She was the sister of author, radio personality, and theatre director
Mentz Schulerud
Mentz Schulerud (19 October 1915 – 18 May 2003) was a Norwegian author, radio personality and theatre director. He was known for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the city of Oslo.
Schulerud was born in Kristiania, but grew up in Rena, Lille ...
. She was also the aunt of
Ingrid Schulerud
Ingrid Schulerud (born 8 July 1959) is a Norwegian diplomat.
She served as Norway's ambassador to Belgium from 2015 to 2019.
Personal life
Early life
Schulerud is the daughter of Mentz Schulerud, an author and radio personality well known for ...
, who was married to Norwegian prime minister, later
Secretary General of NATO
The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...
Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
.
Anne-Cath. Vestly was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
in early 2006. She spent her final years living in a nursing home in
Mjøndalen
Mjøndalen is a built up area in Drammen municipality in Viken county (formerly Buskerud county), Norway. It is situated south of the Drammenselva River opposite of Krokstadelva.
History
Mjøndalen has traditionally been a railway site most k ...
, where she died in 2008 at the age of 88.
Selected awards
* Riksmålsprisen, 1977
* Peer Gynt Prize, 1980
* Alf Prøysens Ærespris, 1986
*
Norwegian Booksellers' Prize
The Norwegian Booksellers' Prize (''Bokhandlerprisen'') is a literature prize awarded annually by the Norwegian Booksellers Association after voting among all who work in Norwegian bookstores.
The prize is awarded for one of the year's books in t ...
, 1986 (for the book ''Mormor og de åtte ungene på sykkeltur i Danmark'')
*
Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...
1991 (for the album ''Marte og mormor og mormor og Morten 1–4'')
*
Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
(Knight, First Class) 1992
*
Norsk kulturråds ærespris
The Arts Council Norway Honorary Award ( no, Norsk kulturråds ærespris) is awarded annually by the Arts Council Norway. The prize is awarded annually to a person who has made a significant contribution to Norwegian art and culture. The priz ...
, 1994
*
Brage Prize
The Brage Prize (Norwegian: ''Brageprisen'') is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation (''Den norske bokprisen''). The prize recognizes recently published Norwegian literature.
The Brage Priz ...
Honorary Award, 1995
* Prillarguri Award, 2000
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vestly, Anne-Catharina
1920 births
2008 deaths
People from Ã…mot
University of Oslo alumni
Norwegian radio personalities
Norwegian children's writers
Norwegian women children's writers
Spellemannprisen winners
Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal
Deaths from dementia in Norway
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease