''Den vita stenen'' ("The White Stone") is a 1964 Swedish

children's book 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 ...

written by

Gunnel Linde Gunnel Linde (14 October 1924 – 12 June 2014) was a Swedish writer who has written over forty children's books, among them '' Den vita stenen'' and '' I Am a Werewolf Cub''. In 1971, she was one of the founders of BRIS (''"Barnens rätt i sa ...

. In 1965, Linde received the

Nils Holgersson Plaque The Nils Holgersson Plaque is an award given by Swedish Library Association. It was established in 1950, and named for the book ''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' by Selma Lagerlöf. It is an annual award given to the author of the best children' ...

for this book. In 1973, a TV version of the story was produced.

Plot

The book takes place in a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the Swedish countryside during the 1930s. Fia and her mother Mrs Pettersson, a piano teacher, live in the big house of the village's "häradshövding" (a countryside local judge/

lawspeaker A lawspeaker or lawman (Swedish language, Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish language, Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic language, Icelandic: , Faroese language, ...

), where the bad-tempered housekeeper Malin lives. People say bad things about Mrs Pettersson because she is useless and lazy as she just plays piano. Fia always gets teased by her school mates because she has a useless mother who is a piano teacher in their school. One summer day, a boy called Hampus comes to the village together with his stepparents, his uncle who is a poor

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

and his wife, and their 6 children. The shoemaker's wife and her children think Hampus is stupid as he "always makes trouble and makes them move house" as they have changed home often. When Hampus and Fia meet, they don't want to say their real names. The two children, who are alienated, start their own

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

and call themselves ''"Fideli"'' (Fia) and ''"Farornas konung"'' ("King of the Dangers", Hampus). They "fight" for a white stone and order each other on "missions": "when you have completed the "mission" you'll get the stone".

TV series

In 1973 a TV series with 13 parts, directed by

Göran Graffman Eric Göran Graffman (12 February 1931 – November 2014) was a Swedish actor and film director from Gothenburg). He was the father of the actor Per Graffman, the director Emil Graffman and Mats Graffman. Graffman worked as actor at Gothenbur ...

, based on the book, was produced.

Cast

Julia Hede Anna Julia Hede Wilkens (born 16 February 1962) is a Swedish film director, photographer and former child actress, well known for her role as ''Fia'' in ''Den vita stenen'' (1973 TV series). In 1986–89, she studied at Dramatiska Institutet ...

as ''Ina Vendela Sofia "Fia" Pettersson'' * Ulf Hasseltorp as ''Hampus'' *

Monica Nordquist Eva Gun Monica Nordquist Graffman (born ''Nordquist'' 3 February 1941 in Bromma, Stockholm - 24 June 2017) was a Swedish actress, well known for her roles as Madicken's mother and Fia's mother in the 1973 TV series ''Den vita stenen''. All those ...

as ''Mrs Pettersson'' * Ulf Johanson as ''the "häradshövding" (judge)'' *

Betty Tuvén Betty Tuvén (born 30 May 1928 in Gothenburg - died 17 June 1999 in Stockholm) was a Swedish actress. She was engaged at Gothenburg City Theatre. Selected filmography *1996 - '' Anna Holt'' (TV) *1973 - ''Den vita stenen'' (TV) *1968 - ''Badarna ...

as ''Malin'' *

Håkan Serner John Gunnar Håkan Serner (1 September 1933 in Malmö – 25 October 1984 in Stockholm) was a Swedish actor. Family He was nephew to Frank Heller, and stepfather to Malin Gjörup. Awards In 1977 Serner received the award for Best Actor at t ...

as ''Sivert Kolmodin, shoemaker, Hampus' uncle and stepfather'' * Maj-Britt Lindholm as ''Mrs Kolmodin'' *Ingemar Hasselquist as ''Henning Kolmodin, the shoemaker's eldest child'' * Cecilia Nilsson as ''Eivor Kolmodin, the shoemaker's daughter'' *Gunilla Söderholm as ''Siri Kolmodin, the shoemaker's daughter'' *Ann-Charlotte Lithman as ''Nanna Kolmodin, the shoemaker's daughter'' *Joakim Rundberg as ''Ture Kolmodin, the shoemaker's son'' *Robert Rundberg as ''Lulle Kolmodin, the shoemaker's son'' *

Fanny Gjörup Fanny Louise Gjörup (16 October 1961 in Örnäset, Luleå Municipality – 15 April 2001 in Rutvik, Luleå Municipality) was a Swedish child actress, well known for her appearance as ''Britta'' in the 1973 TV series ''Den vita stenen ''Den v ...

as ''Brita'' *Eva Dahlqvist as ''Essy'' *Pia Skagermark as ''Solbritt'' *

Börje Mellvig Harald Filip Börje Mellvig (23 November 1911 in Malmö – 7 November 1998 in Stockholm) was a Swedish actor, screenwriter, director and lyricist. He is buried at Norra begravningsplatsen in Solna Municipality, Stockholm County. Börje Me ...

as ''merchant'' *

Björn Gustafson Björn Herman Leonard Gustafson (born 30 November 1934) is a Swedish actor. He was born in Stockholm and has appeared in 93 films and television shows since 1956. He starred in the 1965 film ''Love 65'', which was entered into the 15th Berlin I ...

as ''baker Emilsson'' * Lars-Erik Liedholm as ''postmaster, Brita's father'' *

Ove Tjernberg Sten Ove Filip Tjernberg (27 December 1928 – 7 March 2001) was a Swedish actor. He was engaged at Gothenburg City Theatre. Selected filmography *1996 - '' Jägarna'' *1994 - '' Läckan'' (TV) *1982 - ''Polisen som vägrade svara'' (TV) *197 ...

as ''"Farornas Konung", lion tamer at circus'' *

Willy Peters Willy Peters (31 January 1915 – 13 August 1976) was a Swedish actor and director. He appeared in about 50 films. He was married to actress Agneta Lagerfeldt. Selected filmography * ''Ungdom av i dag'' (1935) - Nyblom * '' Med folket för fos ...

as ''doctor'' * Karin Miller as ''schoolteacher''

References and sources

External links

About the bookAbout the TV series (Swedish Film Database)
{{Portal , Children's literature Swedish children's novels 1964 Swedish novels 1964 children's books Swedish children's television series 1970s Swedish television series 1973 Swedish television series debuts Novels set in Sweden Novels set in the 1930s Children's books set in Sweden Children's books set in the 1930s