Laila Ellen Kaarina Hirvisaari (7 June 1938 – 16 June 2021), also known as Laila Hietamies, was a Finnish author and writer. By 2008, more than four million copies of her works had been sold.(30 September 2008)
Laila Hirvisaaren teoksia myyty yli 4 miljoonaa kappaletta
, Otava (in Finnish).

Biography

When Laila Hirvisaari was three years old, her father Aarne died in the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

between Finland and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, so she had no memories of him. After the war, she and her family were evacuated first to

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

and later to the western part of Finland. In 1958, she married

Heikki Hietamies Heikki is a Finnish and Estonian male given name. It derives from a medieval vernacular form of the name Henrik. Notable people with the name include: * Heikki Aho (footballer) (born 1983), Finnish footballer * Heikki A. Alikoski (1912–1997), ...

, who later also became a well-known Finnish author. He is also known for presenting the

Tangomarkkinat The Tangomarkkinat is the world's oldest tango festival. It is held early every July in Seinäjoki, Finland. As well as competitions to find the country's best tango singers, composers, and dancers, the festival features public dancing to live mu ...

("Tango fair"), a major

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

competition (1985–1999). Laila Hietamies's first novel ''Lehmusten kaupunki'' ("City of the Lindens") was published in 1972 and began a series of novels about

; the seventh part was published in 2004. Hietamies wrote many other novel series, mostly about

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

and the consequences of the wars of Finland in the 1940s. She wrote also books about a Russian princess, Sonja, during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. On 9 December 2004, Laila Hietamies, along with her three cousins, changed their name back to the maiden name Hirvisaari and from then on, her books were published under that name. Hirvisaari received many respected Finnish literature awards but never the most prestigious one, the

Finlandia Prize The Finlandia Prize ( fi, Finlandia-palkinto; sv, Finlandiaprisen) is a set of Finnish literary prizes awarded by the Finnish Book Foundation to "celebrate reading and highlight new Finnish first-rate literature." Considered the most prestigious ...

. Her novel about

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

] (''Minä, Katariina''), however, was nominated for the Finlandia in 2011. Hirvisaari wrote 34 novels and many short stories and plays. A movie was based on her novel ''Hylätyt talot, autiot pihat'' ("Abandoned houses, empty yards") in 2000.Hylätyt talot, autiot pihat (2000)
Elonet. Several of her books have been translated into other languages: *''Myrskypilvet'' (Tormipilved), Estonian language, Estonian, Eesti Raamat, 1996 *''Satakielimetsä'' (Ööbikusalu), Estonian, Eesti Raamat, 1998 *''Sonja'' (Vürstitar Sonja), Estonian, Eesti Raamat, 1995, translated by

Debora Vaarandi Debora Vaarandi (born Debora Trull; 1 October 1916 – 28 April 2007) was an Estonian writer, considered to be a leading literary figure in post-World War II Estonia. Many of her poems were set to music. Vaarandi was a recipient of the firs ...

*''Valkoakaasiat'' (Valged akaatsiad), Eesti Raamat, 1996, translated by Debora Vaarandi *''Vienan punainen kuu'' (Red Moon over White Sea), English,

Aspasia Books Aspasia (; grc-gre, Ἀσπασία ; after 428 BC) was a ''metic'' woman in Classical Athens. Born in Miletus, she moved to Athens and began a relationship with the statesman Pericles, with whom she had a son, Pericles the Younger. Accordin ...

/Canada, 2000, translated by Börje Vähämäki *''Viktoria'' (Victoria), Estonian, Eesti Raamat, 1999, translated by Anne Karu

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirvisaari, Laila 1938 births 2021 deaths Writers from Vyborg 20th-century Finnish novelists Finnish women novelists 21st-century Finnish novelists 21st-century Finnish women writers 20th-century Finnish women writers