Regine Normann (29 July 1867 – 14 August 1939) was a Norwegian school teacher, novelist and story writer.

Early life and education

Serine Regine Normann was born at Bø in

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

, Norway. She was the daughter of Mikkel Normann (1827–71) and Tina Amalie Lockert (1844–1933). Her father died when she was four years old and her mother was left with five young children. She was sent to relatives outside

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the Harstad (town), town of Harstad, the most populous town in Centra ...

when she was five years old. She graduated from Olaf Berg's Higher Teacher Education School in Kristiania (now Oslo) in 1897.

Teaching and writing career

Normann was appointed a schoolteacher at Kristiania Folk School in 1901. Up until her retirement in 1932, she worked at Sofienberg School in Oslo. She made her literary debut in 1905 with the novel ''Krabvaag''. Among her other novels are ''Stængt'' (1906), ''Barnets tjenere'' (1910) and ''Faafengt'' (1911). She published several collections of fairy tales, including ''Eventyr'' (1925), ''Nye eventyr'' (1926), ''Nordlandsnatt'' (1927), and ''Det gråner mot høst'' (1930). She published 18 books in total and her fairy tales have remained in print been out of print since they first appeared. In 1940,

André Bjerke Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...

wrote that “very few in this century have been able to compose true fairy tales. Actually, I can only think of three:

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

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 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

, and Regine Normann”.

Personal life

When Normann was 17, she married Peder Johnsen. The marriage was unhappy and after 10 years of marriage, she left her husband. In 1906, she was married to author

Tryggve Andersen Tryggve Andersen (27 September 1866 – 10 April 1920) was a Norwegian novelist, poet, and story writer. Biography Andersen was born in Ringsaker in Hedmark, Norway. He was one of ten children born to Christen Andersen (1825–1893) and An ...

(1866–1920). Their marriage dissolved in 1913. From 1913 to 1932 she was a board member of the

Norwegian Authors' Union The Norwegian Authors' Union ( no, Den norske Forfatterforening, DnF) is an association of Norwegian authors. It was established in 1893 to promote Norwegian literature and protect Norwegian authors' professional and economic interests. DnF also w ...

. She received several awards including the Petter Dass Medal (''Petter Dass-medaljen'') in 1932 and the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

(''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') in 1937. In 1939, she moved to her farm at

Skånland Skånland ( sme, Skánit) is a former municipality that was located in the old Troms county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1926 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Tjeldsund Municipality. It was part of the Central Hålo ...

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

where she died during 1939.

Commemoration

Normann's photograph was featured on the tail livery of a Norwegian Air plane in 2014. A passenger ferry between Bodø to Svolvær is named in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Normann, Regine 1867 births 1939 deaths People from Bø, Nordland Norwegian educators Norwegian women novelists 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian women writers Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit