13 questions · Literature
Selma Lagerlöf, born in 1858 on the Mårbacka estate in the Swedish province of Värmland, grew up with a hip injury that at times lamed her and with a treasure: the legends and ghost stories her grandmother and aunts told by the fire. When the indebted estate had to be sold, she became a teacher in Landskrona and wrote her debut at night: 'Gösta Berling's Saga' (1891), the wild tale of the defrocked pastor and the twelve cavaliers of Ekeby, told in the floating tone of folk legend. The critics were at first baffled, then delighted: a new, romantic storytelling against the grey realism of the age. Her most famous book began as a textbook commission: the Swedish primary-school teachers' association wanted a vivid geography of the country. Lagerlöf turned it into world literature: 'The Wonderful Adventures of Nils' (1906/07): the naughty boy, shrunk to thumb size, flies on the gander Martin with the wild geese led by Akka of Kebnekaise across all of Sweden. Generations of children learned their country's geography this way and, in passing, compassion. In 1909 Lagerlöf became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature; in 1914 she was the first woman elected to the Swedish Academy. With the prize money she bought back her beloved Mårbacka and ran the estate herself. Her close relationships with Sophie Elkan and Valborg Olander were revealed only by letters unsealed long after. In her final years she helped people persecuted by the Nazi regime, including the poet Nelly Sachs, whose rescue to Sweden she helped set in motion. She died at Mårbacka in 1940. Did you know that in 1991 Lagerlöf became the first woman on a Swedish banknote? On the 20-krona note, Nils Holgersson flew along with her.
Practise for freePurFact brings every card back right before you would forget it. That's how knowledge sticks.
Nils Holgersson
'The Wonderful Adventures of Nils' (1906/07): begun as a textbook commission.
💡 Did you know? „The Wonderful Adventures of Nils“ was originally written as a geography reader for Swedish schoolchildren.
first woman to win the literature Nobel
In 1914 the next first followed: first woman in the Swedish Academy.
💡 Did you know? In 1909 Lagerlöf became the very first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Gösta Berling's Saga
Published in 1891: Greta Garbo became a star with the 1924 film adaptation.
💡 Did you know? Her debut „Gösta Berling“ broke with sober realism and returned to the storytelling joy of the saga.
Mårbacka
After the forced sale she bought it back with the Nobel money: a museum today.
💡 Did you know? With her Nobel money Lagerlöf bought back Mårbacka, the family home lost in her childhood.
Akka
Named after a Lapland mountain: the domestic gander Nils rides is called Martin.
💡 Did you know? The old lead goose Akka guides the shrunken Nils safely across all of Sweden.
as a schoolbook
The teachers' association wanted vivid geography: Lagerlöf delivered world literature.
💡 Did you know? Generations of Swedish children got to know their country from a bird's-eye view.
teacher
At a girls' school in Landskrona: the writing happened at night and in the holidays.
💡 Did you know? For ten years Lagerlöf taught girls before literary success made her a full-time writer.
the Swedish Academy
The body that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature: chair number 7.
💡 Did you know? In 1914 Lagerlöf became the first woman elected to the Swedish Academy: which awards the Nobel Prize.
Nelly Sachs
The later Nobel laureate escaped Berlin with her mother literally at the last minute.
💡 Did you know? Shortly before her death Lagerlöf helped the Jewish poet Nelly Sachs escape the Nazis.
Värmland
The legends and ghost stories of her Värmland childhood became her literary treasure.
💡 Did you know? Her native Värmland, with its legends and farms, forms the backdrop of nearly all her works.
20 kronor
Nils Holgersson flew along on the reverse.
💡 Did you know? Only in 2015 did Astrid Lindgren and Greta Garbo replace her on the new notes.
Jerusalem
Based on a real emigration of 1896: Lagerlöf herself travelled to Palestine to research it.
💡 Did you know? „Jerusalem“ is based on a real emigration of Swedish farmers to the Holy Land.
Foto: Carl Larsson · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Selma Lagerlöf
Selma Lagerlöf (1858 to 1940) was a Swedish writer. In 1909 she became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature; her „Nils Holgersson“ is world-famous.
💡 Did you know? Her portrait long adorned the Swedish 20-krona note: the first woman on a Swedish banknote.
Home · All topics · Legal notice · Privacy · Terms · Contact
