Literature: 1909

Lagerlof, Selma pronounced LAH gehr luhf, (1858-1940), a Swedish writer, won the 1909 Nobel Prize for literature. She is best remembered for the meaning and depth she gave to materials of folk origin. Gosta Berling's Saga (1891), her first novel, is her most admired book. It is a fantastic romance in loosely related episodes that deal with a swashbuckling defrocked minister and his fellow adventurers. Like much of Lagerlof's fiction, the book is set in Varmland, the province in west-central Sweden where Lagerlof was born.

Religion plays an important part in Lagerlof's writing. In her two-volume novel Jerusalem (1901-1902), she tells of a Swedish religious group awaiting the second coming of Christ.

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906-1907) is a geography textbook in fairy tale form. It describes Sweden through the eyes of a boy traveling over the country on the back of a wild goose. The book is both factually sound and full of charm. Lagerlof also used fairy tale elements in Liljecrona's Home (1911), which is a story based on her own family in the early 1800's. The trilogy The Ring of the Lowenskolds (1925-1928) combines mystery, romance, and family history. It consists of The General's Ring, Charlotte Lowenskold, and Anna Svard.

Selma Ottiliana Lovisa Lagerlof was born in Marbacka, her family home in Varmland. Her home is now a Swedish national shrine.

Contributor: Niels Ingwersen, Cand. Mag., Professor of Scandinavian Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison.