Ulla Isaksson (22 June 1916 – 24 April 2000) was a Swedish author and screenplay writer. She was born and died 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 ...
, Sweden. In addition to her short stories and novels, Isaksson also wrote scripts for films and plays.
Early life and education
Isaksson was born in Stockholm in 1916, the daughter of
Knut Lundberg and
Greta Brasch, who was a member of the
Immanuelkyrkan church; this gave Isaksson's upbringing a strong religious character, something that marked her early novels. Isaksson graduated from high school in 1937; she then began studying philosophy. The next year she married
David Isaksson. She was awarded the honorary degree of
Doctor of philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
in 1978.
Career
In 1940 Isaksson debuted with the novel ''
Trädet'' and in 1952 she got her public breakthrough with the novel ''
Kvinnohuset'', which was made into a film by
Erik Faustman
Erik "Hampe" Faustman (born Erik Stellan Chatham; 3 July 1919 – 26 August 1961) was a Swedish actor and film director. He appeared in more than 20 films between 1940 and 1961. He also directed 20 films between 1943 and 1955. He was married ...
.
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...
adapted her novel ''
Det vänliga, värdiga'' (1954) in 1958, and after that he hired Isaksson to write the screenplay for the film ''
Jungfrukällan'' (1960). Her novel ''
Klänningen'' was adapted by
Vilgot Sjöman
David Harald Vilgot Sjöman (2 December 1924 – 9 April 2006) was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally tortured characters of Ingm ...
in 1964, ''
Paradistorg'' became a movie in 1977, directed by
Gunnel Lindblom
Gunnel Märtha Ingegärd Lindblom (18 December 1931 – 24 January 2021) was a Swedish film actress and director.
Career
As an actress, Lindblom was particularly associated with the work of Ingmar Bergman, though in 1965 she performed the l ...
, and Bergman made a television movie of the novel ''
De två saliga'' (1962).
Several of Isaksson's novels of the 1950s are marked by religious problems, as ultimately in ''
Havet'' and ''
Dit du icke vill'', where 17th century witchcraft trials in a village in Dalarna are portrayed of the bases of contemporary protocols. In her previous books she had written primarily about religious tensions and conflicts. In later novels she also directed analysis against erotic motifs, world problems, women's issues, and parenting.
Isaksson remained married to David Isaksson until 1963, when she married secondly the author
Erik Hjalmar Linder. Together with Linder, she wrote a two-part biography of the author and journalist
Elin Wägner
Elin Matilda Elisabet Wägner (16 May 1882 – 7 January 1949) was a Swedish writer, journalist, feminist, teacher, ecologist and pacifist. She was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1944.
Biography
Elin Wägner was born in Lund, Sweden as the ...
called ''Elin Wagner, amazon with two breasts, 1882-1922'' (Bonnier, 1977) and ''Elin Wagner, daughter of Mother Earth, 1922-1949'' (Bonnier, 1980).
In 1994, Ulla Isaksson's autobiography ''
Boken om E Boken may refer to:
* Boken, Pakistan, a town in Punjab
*Bokken
A ''bokken'' (, , "wood", and ''ken'', "sword") (or a ''bokutō'' ) is a Japanese wooden sword used for training in kenjutsu. It is usually the size and shape of a ''katana'', but ...
'' was published. This is largely about how she saw her husband Erik Hjalmar Linder suffering from Alzheimer's disease. ''Boken om E'' was adapted for the screen in 2001, directed by
Bille August
Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed co ...
, and entitled ''
A Song for Martin''.
Isaksson died on 24 April 2000, before the adaptation of ''Boken om E''.
''De två saliga'' (The two blessed), 1962
The book portrays a couple whose love, in combination with psychosis and religious blindness, causes them to go under. The frame story, about a psychiatrist who reads journals concerning this "case", is following another marriage. The book's core question is what actually determines if a relationship based on love is healthy or sick. It is a classic case description, created using hospital records, letters, and recollections. ''De två saliga'' was made into a movie by Ingmar Bergman, and released in 1986.
''Kvinnohuset'' (The women's house), 1952
''Kvinnohuset'' is about a shared housing unit for single working women. A chain of human destinies that cross and touch each other, and where the common denominator is that they are all women living in the same house. A special house for single self-sufficient women, with a doorman for help. The topic of the day is the young theater student Eva Lind, who is about to move in. Most tenants know she is the theater decorator Trygve Krook's mistress. Krook has got an apartment for her in the house, where his wife Anna also lives. The other women living in the house have a hard time understanding her toleration and her indifference to the husband's doings.
''Kvinnohuset'' was made into a movie in 1953 and was the first of Ulla Isaksson's novels that was adapted.
''Paradistorg'' (Paradise square), 1973
''Paradistorg'' is the name of a summerhouse in
Vaxholm
Vaxholm is a locality and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is located on the island of in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Castle, which was constructed in 1549 on an islet with this nam ...
. There, four generations find refuge. But the idyll of the
Stockholm archipelago is mined and false security. Families have different ways of living, and old conflicts clash with new, which results in individuals and generations turning against each other.
''Boken om E'' (The book about E), 1994
Ulla Isakssons autobiographical account of how her husband Erik Hjalmar Linder suffered from
Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...
disease. Here, she was very open and self-critical about what she experienced.
Bibliography
* ''
Trädet'' (1940)
* ''I denna natt'' (1942)
* ''Av krukmakarens hand'' (1945)
* ''Ytterst i havet'' (1950)
* ''
Kvinnohuset'' (1952)
* ''Dödens faster'' (fiction, 1954)
* ''Dit du icke vill'' (1956)
* ''
Klänningen'' (1959)
* ''De två saliga'' (1962)
* ''Våra torsdagar'' (play) (1964)
* ''
Klockan'' (1966)
* ''Amanda eller den blå spårvagnen'' (1969)
* ''
Paradistorg'' (1973)
* ''Elin Wägner del 1'', together with
Erik Hjalmar Linder (1977)
* ''Elin Wägner del 2'', together with
Erik Hjalmar Linder (1980)
* ''
Födelsedagen'' (1988)
* ''Boken om E'' (1994)
Filmography
* 1953 – ''
Kvinnohuset'' (Script)
* 1958 – ''
Nära livet
''Brink of Life'', ( sv, Nära livet, and known as ''So Close to Life'' in the UK) is a 1958 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Bergman won the Best Director Award and Andersson, Dahlbeck, Ornäs and Thulin won the Best Actress ...
'' (Script)
* 1960 – ''
Jungfrukällan'' (Script)
* 1983 – ''Här har ni hans liv!'' (TV-show)
* 1988 – ''Hjalmar och Stina'' (TV-show)
* 1993 – ''Chefen fru Ingeborg'' (TV-show)
Awards
*
Svenska Dagbladets litteraturpris (
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
)
* Member of
Samfundet De Nio
Samfundet De Nio (''The Nine Society'' or ''Society of the Nine'') is a Swedish literary society founded on 14 February 1913 in Stockholm by a testamentary donation from writer Lotten von Kraemer. The society has nine members who are elected for ...
(
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
)
* Member of
Kungliga Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetssamhället i Göteborg (
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
)
*
Hedersdoktor in Stockholm (1978)
*
Göteborgs-Postens litteraturpris (
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
)
*
Stiftelsen Selma Lagerlöfs litteraturpris (
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
)
*
Samfundet De Nios Särskilda pris (
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaksson, Ulla
1916 births
2000 deaths
Writers from Stockholm
20th-century Swedish women writers
Members of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg
20th-century Swedish screenwriters
Swedish women screenwriters