Ane Gurli Linder née Peterson (1865–1947) was a Swedish writer and feminist who was active in Stockholm's social life in the late 19th century when she also encouraged women to become more directly involved in culture. A strong supporter of libraries and reading, she later played an important role in pioneering the promotion and development 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 ...

Biography

Born on 1 October 1865 in Tysslinge,

Örebro Municipality Örebro Municipality ( sv, Örebro kommun) is a municipality in Örebro County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Örebro. The municipality was created from the ''City of Örebro'' and surrounding rural municipalities in 1971 a ...

, Ane Gurli Peterson was the daughter of the landowner Carl Gustaf Peterson and Marie Christine Kavli. In 1879, she moved to Stockholm with her family. Following her father's death when she was 10 years old, she became a full boarder at Hammarstedt School. She then went on to the

Högre lärarinneseminariet The Royal Seminary, fully the Royal Advanced Female Teachers' Seminary ( sv, Kungliga Högre Lärarinneseminariet, abbreviated KHLS), was a normal school (teachers' college) in Stockholm, Sweden. It was active from 1861 until 1943. It was the fi ...

teacher training college where she received her teaching diploma in 1885. As there were not many opportunities for women to study at the time, the training college became a centre for women intellectuals. It was probably there that Peterson first became involved in the Swedish women's movement. One of her companions at the college was the Nobel laureate

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, '' Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she wa ...

who remained a lifelong friends. Reform Dress by Kristine Dahl

After working for two years as a schoolteacher, in June 1887 Gurli Peterson married the Norwegian philologist Nils Linder (1835–1904) who had been her Swedish teacher at the teacher training college. Thanks to her husband, she frequented Stockholm's intellectual receptions, salons and clubs including the feminist

Ellen Key Ellen Karolina Sofia Key (; 11 December 1849 – 25 April 1926) was a Swedish difference feminist writer on many subjects in the fields of family life, ethics and education and was an important figure in the Modern Breakthrough movement. She was ...

's Sunday meetings and

Calla Curman Calla Curman, née ''Lundström'' (1850–1935), was a Swedish writer, salon-holder and feminist. She was also the founder of Stångehuvud nature reserve and one of the five founders of the women's association Nya Idun. Family Calla Curman w ...

's literature salons. A budding journalist, she reported her encounters in the press. One of her main interests was the so-called clothing reform (''dräktreformen'') aimed at providing more suitable clothing for women. She founded the Association for Clothing Reform (''Dräktreformförening'') calling in particular for more practical clothing for schoolgirls and women with children. She also encouraged women to play a more active part in cultural life, encouraged by her friend

Sophie Adlersparre Carin ''Sophie'' Adlersparre, known under the pen-name Esselde (born Leijonhufvud; 6 July 1823 – 27 June 1895) was one of the pioneers of the 19th-century women's rights movement in Sweden. She was the founder and editor of the first women' ...

who was active in

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

as the founder of the Fredrika Bremer Association. In the early 20th century, Linder became an active supporter of women's involvement in education and culture, regularly contributing to ''Folkbiblioteksbladet'', the public library journal. She encouraged interest in reading for pleasure. Linder also contributed to various newspapers and magazines, addressing school education problems and women's issues as well as writing literary reviews. She also wrote several articles about the engineer and balloonist

Salomon August Andrée Salomon August Andrée (18 October 1854, in Gränna, Småland – October 1897, in Kvitøya, Arctic Norway), during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died whi ...

with whom she had a romantic relationship. Linder is remembered in particular as being a pioneer in examining Swedish books for children and acting as a critic of children's literature from 1900, especially in ''

Dagens Nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ' ...

''. She continued to contribute to children's book reviews until the 1940s, influencing library acquisitions and the design and presentation of children's books, helping to increase the quality of children's book publishing. Gurli Linder died in Stockholm on 3 February 1947 and is buried in

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Notabl ...

Biography

References

Further reading