Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''
Gösta Berling's Saga
''Gösta Berling's Saga'' ( sv, Gösta Berlings saga ) is the debut novel of Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, published in 1891. It was made into a 1924 silent film directed by Mauritz Stiller starring Greta Garbo, Lars Hanson and Gerda Lundequist ...
'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
, which she was awarded in 1909. Additionally, she was the first woman to be granted a membership in the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...
in 1914.
Life
Early years
![Selma Lagerlöf in 1881](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Selma_Lagerl%C3%B6f_in_1881.jpg)
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf was born on 20 November 1858 at
Mårbacka
Mårbacka is a manor house in Sunne Municipality in Värmland, Sweden. The first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Selma Lagerlöf, was born and raised at Mårbacka. Today, the manor building and the surrounding area is kept as a memo ...
,
Värmland
Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are ''Va ...
,
Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. Lagerlöf was the daughter of Erik Gustaf Lagerlöf, a lieutenant in the Royal Värmland Regiment, and Louise Lagerlöf (''née'' Wallroth), whose father was a well-to-do merchant and a
foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
owner ().
Lagerlöf was the couple's fifth child out of six. She was born with a
hip injury, which was caused by detachment in the hip joint. At the age of three and a half, a sickness left her lame in both legs, although she later recovered.
She was a quiet, serious child with a deep love of
reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. She wrote poetry but did not publish anything until later in life. Her grandmother helped raise her, often telling stories of fairytales and fantasy. Growing up, she was plain and slightly lame, and an account stated that the cross-country wanderings of Margarethe and Elisabet in ''Gösta Berling's Saga'' could be the author's compensatory fantasies.
[ She received her schooling at home since the ]Volksschule
The German term ''Volksschule'' generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend.
In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary (' ...
compulsory education system was not fully developed yet. She studied English and French. After reading ''Osceola'' by Thomas Mayne Reid
Thomas Mayne Reid (4 April 1818 – 22 October 1883) was an Irish-American novelist, who fought in the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). His many works on American life describe colonial policy in the American colonies, the horrors of slave ...
at the age of seven, she decided she would be a writer when she grew up.
In 1868, at the age of 10, Selma began reading the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. At this time her father was very ill, and she hoped that God would heal him if she read the Bible from cover to cover. Her father lived for another 17 years. In this manner, Lagerlöf became accustomed to the language of Scripture.
The sale of in 1884 had a serious impact on her development. Selma's father is said to have been an alcoholic, something she rarely discussed. Her father did not want Selma to continue her education or remain involved with the women's movement. Later in life, she would buy back her father's estate with the money she received for her Nobel Prize. Lagerlöf lived there for the rest of her life. She also completed her studies at the Royal Seminary
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 ...
to become a teacher the same year as her father died.
In her early life she supposedly was on very good terms with Lovisa Larsson
Lovisa is a Swedified form of Louise, which originates in Louis and has been used in Sweden since the 17th century. It was placed in the Swedish calendar in the 1750s after king Adolf Fredericks marriage to Lovisa Ulrika of Prussia in 1744. L ...
.
Teaching life
Lagerlöf studied at 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 ...
in Stockholm from 1882 to 1885. She worked as a country schoolteacher at a high school for girls in Landskrona
Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
from 1885 to 1895, while honing her story-telling skills, with particular focus on the legends she had learned as a child. She liked the teaching profession and appreciated her students. She had a talent for capturing the children's attention through telling them stories about the different countries about which they were studying or stories about Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and his disciples. During this period of her life, Selma lived with her aunt Lovisa Lagerlöf.
Through her studies at the Royal Women's Superior Training Academy in Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Lagerlöf reacted against the realism of contemporary Swedish-language writers such as August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...
. She began her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga
''Gösta Berling's Saga'' ( sv, Gösta Berlings saga ) is the debut novel of Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, published in 1891. It was made into a 1924 silent film directed by Mauritz Stiller starring Greta Garbo, Lars Hanson and Gerda Lundequist ...
,'' while working as a teacher in Landskrona. Her first break as a writer came when she submitted the first chapters to a literary contest in the magazine'' Idun'', and won a publishing contract for the whole book. At first, her writing only received mild reviews from critics. Once a popular male critic, Georg Brandes
Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...
, gave her positive reviews of the Danish translation, her popularity soared. She received financial support of Fredrika Limnell
Catharina Fredrika Limnell née Forssberg (14 July 1816 – 12 September 1897), was a Swedish people, Swedish philanthropist, mecenate, feminist and salon (gathering), salonist.
Private life
Fredrika Forssberg was born in Härnösand Municipalit ...
, who wished to enable her to concentrate on her writing.
Literary career
A visit in 1900 to the American Colony
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
became the inspiration for Lagerlöf's book by that name. The royal family and the Swedish Academy gave her substantial financial support to continue her passion. ''Jerusalem'' was also acclaimed by critics, who began comparing her to Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, so that she became a popular figure both in Sweden and abroad.[ By 1895, she gave up her teaching to devote herself to her writing. With the help of proceeds from ''Gösta Berling's Saga'' and a scholarship and grant, she made two journeys, which were largely instrumental in providing material for her next novel. With her close friend ]Sophie Elkan
Sophie Elkan née Salomon (3 January 1853, Gothenburg –5 April 1921, Gothenburg), was a Swedish writer and translator.
Life
Sophie Salomon was born to the merchant Alexander Salomon and Henriette Abrahamson: her parents had migrated to Swe ...
, she traveled to Italy, and she also traveled to Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and other parts of the East. In Italy, a legend of a Christ Child figure that had been replaced with a false version inspired Lagerlöf's novel (''The Miracles of the Antichrist''). Set in Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, the novel explores the interplay between Christian and socialist moral systems. However, most of Lagerlöf's stories were set in Värmland.
In 1902, Lagerlöf was asked by the National Teachers' Association to write a geography book for children. She wrote (''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils
''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' ( sv, Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, literally ''Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden'') is a work of fiction by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive th ...
''), a novel about a boy from the southernmost part of Sweden, who had been shrunk to the size of a thumb and who travelled on the back of a goose across the country. Lagerlöf mixed historical and geographical facts about the provinces of Sweden with the tale of the boy's adventures until he managed to return home and was restored to his normal size.[ The novel is one of Lagerlöf's most well-known books, and it has been translated into more than 30 languages.
]
She moved in 1897 to Falun
Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabita ...
, and met Valborg Olander
Valborg Olander (Uddeholm Manor, Värmland 14 May 1861 – 27 February 1943, Stockholm), was a Swedish teacher, politician and suffragette. She is known for her friendship with Selma Lagerlöf.
Life and career
Valborg Olander was born as one o ...
, who became her literary assistant and friend, but Elkan's jealousy of Olander was a complication in the relationship. Olander, a teacher, was also active in the growing women's suffrage movement
Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...
in Sweden. Selma Lagerlöf herself was active as a speaker for the National Association for Women's Suffrage, which was beneficial for the organisation because of the great respect which surrounded Lagerlöf, and she spoke at the International Suffrage Congress in Stockholm in June 1911, where she gave the opening address, as well as at the victory party of the Swedish suffrage movement after women suffrage had been granted in May 1919.
Selma Lagerlöf was a friend of the German-Jewish writer Nelly Sachs
Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German-Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of he ...
. Shortly before her death in 1940, Lagerlöf intervened with the Swedish royal family to secure the release of Sachs and Sachs' aged mother from Nazi Germany, on the last flight from Germany to Sweden, and their lifelong asylum in Stockholm.
Personal life
Relationships
In 1894, she met the Swedish writer Sophie Elkan, who became her friend and companion. Over many years, Elkan and Lagerlöf critiqued each other's work. Lagerlöf wrote that Elkan strongly influenced her work and that she often disagreed sharply with the direction Lagerlöf wanted to take in her books. Selma's letters to Sophie were published in 1993, titled ('You Teach me to be Free').[ Beginning in the 1900s, she also had a close relationship with ]Valborg Olander
Valborg Olander (Uddeholm Manor, Värmland 14 May 1861 – 27 February 1943, Stockholm), was a Swedish teacher, politician and suffragette. She is known for her friendship with Selma Lagerlöf.
Life and career
Valborg Olander was born as one o ...
, who had some influence as a literary adviser, agent and secretary of sorts as well; their correspondence was published as ('A Proper Writer's Wife'). There appears to have been a strong rivalry between Elkan and Olander while both lived (Elkan died approximately twenty years before the other two women). Both relationships were close, emotional, exclusive and described in terms suggestive of love, the boundary between expressions of friendship and love being somewhat vague at the time. Still, it is primarily the surviving correspondence with Olander that contains passages implying decidedly erotic and physical passion, even though Lagerlöf took care to destroy many of the letters she found too risky. Homosexual relations between women were taboo as well as illegal in Sweden at the time, so none of the women involved ever revealed such a thing publicly.[
]
Literary adaptations
In 1919, Lagerlöf sold all the movie rights to all of her as-yet unpublished works to Swedish Cinema Theatre ( sv, Svenska Biografteatern), so over the years, many movie versions of her works were made. During the era of Swedish silent cinema, her works were used in film by Victor Sjöström
Victor David Sjöström (; 20 September 1879 – 3 January 1960), also known in the United States as Victor Seastrom, was a pioneering Swedish film director, screenwriter, and actor. He began his career in Sweden, before moving to Hollywood in ...
, Mauritz Stiller
Mauritz Stiller (born Moshe Stiller, 17 July 1883 – 18 November 1928) was a Swedish film director of Finnish Jewish origin, best known for discovering Greta Garbo and bringing her to America.
Stiller had been a pioneer of the Swedish film ...
, and other Swedish film makers. Sjöström's retelling of Lagerlöf's tales about rural Swedish life, in which his camera recorded the detail of traditional village life and the Swedish landscape, provided the basis of some of the most poetic and memorable products of silent cinema. ''Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
'' was adapted in 1996 into the internationally acclaimed film ''Jerusalem''.
Awards and commemoration
On 10 December 1909, Selma Lagerlöf won the Nobel Prize "in appreciation of the lofty idealism
An ideal is a principle or value that one actively pursues as a goal, usually in the context of ethics, and one's prioritization of ideals can serve to indicate the extent of one's dedication to each. The belief in ideals is called ethical ideali ...
, vivid imagination, and spiritual perception that characterize her writings", but the decision was preceded by harsh internal power struggle within the Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...
, the body that awards the Nobel Prize in literature. During her acceptance speech, she remained humble and told a fantastic story of her father, as she 'visited him in heaven'. In the story, she asks her father for help with the debt she owes and her father explains the debt is from all the people who supported her throughout her career.[ In 1904, the academy had awarded her its great gold medal, and in 1914, she also became a member of the academy. For both the academy membership and her Nobel literature prize, she was the first woman to be so honored.] She was awarded the Litteris et Artibus
Litteris et Artibus is a Swedish royal medal established in 1853 by Charles XV of Sweden, who was then crown prince. It is awarded to people who have made important contributions to culture, especially music, dramatic art and literature.
The ob ...
in 1909 and the Illis quorum
''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society.
The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gust ...
in 1926. In 1991, she became the first woman to be depicted on a Swedish banknote, when the first 20-kronor note was released.
In 1907, she received the degree of doctor of letters
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
from Uppsala University. In 1928, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Greifswald
The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...
's Faculty of Arts
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...
. At the start of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, she sent her Nobel Prize medal and gold medal from the Swedish Academy to the government of Finland to help raise money to fight 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 ...
. The Finnish government was so touched that it raised the necessary money by other means and returned her medal to her.
Two hotels are named after her in Östra Ämtervik in Sunne, and her home, , is preserved as a museum.
Published works
Original Swedish-language publications are listed primarily.
The popularity of Lagerlöf in the United States was due in part to Velma Swanston Howard, or V. S. Howard (1868–1937, a suffragette and Christian scientist)"Howard, Velma Swanston, 1868–1937"
Library of Congress Authorities (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2019-09-30. – who was an early believer in her appeal to Americans and who carefully translated many of her books.
* (1891; novel). Translated as ''The Story of Gösta Berling'' (Pauline Bancroft Flach, 1898), ''Gösta Berling's Saga
''Gösta Berling's Saga'' ( sv, Gösta Berlings saga ) is the debut novel of Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, published in 1891. It was made into a 1924 silent film directed by Mauritz Stiller starring Greta Garbo, Lars Hanson and Gerda Lundequist ...
'' (V.S. Howard and Lillie Tudeer, 1898), ''The Story of Gösta Berling'' (R. Bly, 1962)
* (1894; short stories). Translated as ''Invisible Links'' (Pauline Bancroft Flach, (1869–1966) 1899)
* (1897; novel). Translated as ''The Miracles of Antichrist'' (Selma Ahlström Trotz, 1899) and ''The Miracles of Antichrist'' (Pauline Bancroft Flach (1869–1966), 1899)
* (1899; short stories). Translated as ''The Queens of Kungahälla and Other Sketches From a Swedish Homestead'' (Jessie Bröchner, 1901; C. Field, 1917)
* (1899; short stories). Translated as '' The Tale of a Manor and Other Sketches'' (C. Field, 1922)
* (1901; novel). Translated as ''Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
'' (Jessie Bröchner, 1903; V.S. Howard, 1914)
* (1902; novel). Translated as ''The Holy City : Jerusalem II'' (V.S. Howard, 1918)
* (1903; novel). Translated as '' Herr Arne's Hoard'' (Arthur G. Chater, 1923; Philip Brakenridge, 1952) and '' The Treasure'' (Arthur G. Chater, 1925) – adapted
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
as the 1919 film '' Sir Arne's Treasure''.
* (1904; short stories). Translated as ''Christ Legends and Other Stories'' (V,S. Howard, 1908)
* (1906–07; novel). Translated as ''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils
''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' ( sv, Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, literally ''Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden'') is a work of fiction by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive th ...
'' (V.S. Howard, 1907; Richard E. Oldenburg, 1967) and ''Further Adventures of Nils'' (V.S. Howard, 1911)
* (1908; short stories). Translated as '' The Girl from the Marsh Croft'' (V.S. Howard, 1910) and ''Girl from the Marsh Croft and Other Stories'' (edited by Greta Anderson, 1996)
* (1911; non-fiction). Translated as ''Home and State: Being an Address Delivered at Stockholm at the Sixth Convention of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, June 1911'' (C. Ursula Holmstedt, 1912)
* (1911; novel). Translated as ''Liliecrona's Home'' (Anna Barwell, 1913)
* '' Körkarlen'' (1912; novel). Translated as '' Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness!'' (William Frederick Harvey, 1921). Filmed as ''The Phantom Carriage
''The Phantom Carriage'' ( sv, Körkarlen, literally "The Wagoner") is a 1921 Swedish silent film directed by and starring Victor Sjöström, based on the 1912 novel '' Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness!'' (''Körkarlen'') by Swedish author Selma Lag ...
'', ''The Phantom Chariot'', ''The Stroke of Midnight''.
* (1913) with Bernt Fredgren
* (1914; short stories)
* (1914; novel). Translated as ''The Emperor of Portugallia
''The Emperor of Portugallia'' (Swedish: ''Kejsarn av Portugallien'') is a novel by Nobel-laureate Selma Lagerlöf, published in 1914 with drawings by Albert Engström. Lagerlöf called it a "Swedish King Lear". The novel was a success with crit ...
'' (V.S. Howard, 1916)
* (1914; play)
* (1915; short stories)
* (1915, 1921; novel). Translated as ''The Changeling (Lagerlöf novel)'' (Susanna Stevens, 1992)
* (1918; novel). Translated as ''The Outcast (Lagerlöf novel)'' (W. Worster, 1920/22)
* (1918; novel), with illustrations by Einar Nerman
Einar Nerman (6 October 1888 – 30 March 1983) was a Swedish artist known for his portraits, book and magazine illustrations and theatrical designs.
Early life and education
He grew up in a middle-class family in Norrköping with his twi ...
* (1920; non-fiction), biography of Zachris Topelius
Zachris Topelius (, ; 14 January 181812 March 1898) was a Finnish author, poet, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history.
Given name
Zacharias is his baptismal name, and this ...
* (1922; memoir). Translated as ''Marbacka: The Story of a Manor'' (V.S. Howard, 1924) and ''Memories of Marbacka'' (Greta Andersen, 1996) – named for the estate Mårbacka
Mårbacka is a manor house in Sunne Municipality in Värmland, Sweden. The first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Selma Lagerlöf, was born and raised at Mårbacka. Today, the manor building and the surrounding area is kept as a memo ...
where Lagerlöf was born and raised
*The Ring trilogy – published in 1931 as ''The Ring of the Löwenskölds'', containing the Martin and Howard translations,
** ''Löwensköldska ringen'' (1925; novel). Translated as ''The General's Ring'' (Francesca Martin, 1928) and as '' The Löwensköld Ring'' (Linda Schenck, 1991)
** '' Charlotte Löwensköld'' (1925; novel). Translated as ''Charlotte Löwensköld'' (V.S. Howard)
** '' Anna Svärd'' (1928; novel). Translated as ''Anna Svärd'' (V.S. Howard, 1931)
* (1929; play), based on 1899 work
* (1930; short stories)
* (1930; memoir). Translated as ''Memories of My Childhood (Lagerlöf) Further Years at Mårbacka'' (V.S. Howard, 1934)
* (1932; memoir). Translated as ''The Diary of Selma Lagerlöf'' (V.S. Howard, 1936)
* (1933; short stories). Translated as ''Harvest (book)'' (Florence and Naboth Hedin, 1935)
* (1936)
* (1936)
* (1943–45)
* (1959)
* (1984)
Works about Selma Lagerlöf
*Berendsohn, Walter A., ''Selma Lagerlöf: Her Life and Work'' (adapted from the German by George F. Timpson) – London : Nicholson & Watson, 1931
* Wägner, Elin, ''Selma Lagerlöf I'' (1942) and ''Selma Lagerlöf II'' (1943)
*Vrieze, Folkerdina Stientje de, ''Fact and Fiction in the Autobiographical Works of Selma Lagerlof'' – Assen, Netherlands : Van Gorcum, 1958
*Nelson, Anne Theodora, ''The Critical Reception of Selma Lagerlöf in France'' – Evanston, Ill., 1962
*Victor Folke Nelson
Victor Folke Nelson (June 5, 1898 – December 9, 1939) was a Swedish-American writer,"Prison Ethics." ''The Tennessean''. March 6, 1933."Bound to be Read." ''The Evening Sentinel''. Carlisle, Pa. March 16, 1933."The Articulate Convict Studies Pri ...
, ''The Mårbacka Edition of the Works of Selma Lagerlöf'' in ''The Saturday Review of Literature
''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Norman Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, ess ...
'', 1929.[ "The Mårbacka Edition". ''The Saturday Review of Literature''. January 19, 1929. Retrieved on February 1, 2022.]
*Olson-Buckner, Elsa, ''The epic tradition in Gösta Berlings saga'' – Brooklyn, N.Y. : Theodore Gaus, 1978
*Edström, Vivi, ''Selma Lagerlöf'' (trans. by Barbara Lide) – Boston : Twayne Publishers, 1984
*Madler, Jennifer Lynn, ''The Literary Response of German-language Authors to Selma Lagerlöf'' – Urbana, Ill. : University of Illinois, 1998
*De Noma, Elizabeth Ann, ''Multiple Melodrama: the Making and Remaking of Three Selma Lagerlöf Narratives in the Silent Era and the 1940s'' – Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI Research Press, cop. 2000
*Watson, Jennifer, ''Swedish Novelist Selma Lagerlöf, 1858–1940, and Germany at the Turn of the Century: O du Stern ob meinem Garten'' – Lewiston, NY : Edwin Mellen Press, 2004
*
See also
* List of female Nobel laureates
The Nobel Prizes are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to Mankind."
As of 2022, 61 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to 6 ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
portrait in old age
Resources
*
List of Works
*
*
*
*
*
Works online
*
*
*
*
*
at Project Runeberg
Project Runeberg ( sv, Projekt Runeberg) is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded ...
Works by Selma Lagerlöf
at Swedish Literature Bank
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagerlof, Selma
1858 births
1940 deaths
People from Sunne Municipality
Writers from Värmland
Swedish women novelists
Swedish-language writers
19th-century Swedish novelists
Nobel laureates in Literature
Members of the Swedish Academy
Swedish Christian pacifists
Christian writers
Swedish feminists
Swedish suffragists
Liberals (Sweden) politicians
Swedish Lutherans
Swedish Nobel laureates
LGBT writers from Sweden
LGBT Lutherans
LGBT Nobel laureates
Women Nobel laureates
Swedish children's writers
Swedish women children's writers
20th-century Swedish novelists
Swedish short story writers
Recipients of the Illis quorum
Litteris et Artibus recipients