Selma Lagerlöf Libri

One of Sweden's best-known and loved tales, now available in English.

The book Marbacka, the first part of a trilogy written in 1922-32, can be read as many different things: memoir, fictionalised autobiography, even part of Lagerlof's myth-making about her own successful career as an author.

GÖsta Berling is a failed parson in nineteenth century rural Sweden, too fond of pleasure and the drink, torn by conflicting aims -- the charm and deceit, love and laziness in him fighting for supremacy. He teams together with a group of sometimes dissolute, often well-meaning freemen of their district to evict the seemingly mad owner of a great rambling house at the centre of its own semi-feudal estate, Ekeby. This group call themselves the cavaliers. In her telling of what happens next, LagerlÖf creates a strange fusion between the realism of authors like Ibsen and Strindberg and the mythic force of the Scandinavian sagas. GÖsta's great loves, his enemies, those to whom he teaches lessons about life, either intentionally or accidentally, and others whose stories he has only a small part in, all start up from the page into a strange, elemental clarity, creating a sprawling mosaic of romance and realism. This first novel from the deeply original mind of the 1909 Nobel Prize winner weaves a balance between everyday rural reality and underlying dreams and fable to create a patchwork of extraordinary complexity and looming fascination, in which the reader can detect the author's passion for the stories of her country, and her sceptical warmth for the troubled human spirit.

Set against a backdrop of a serene yet haunting natural landscape, the story intertwines the life of Hatto, a hermit devoted to prayer, with ancient mythological elements. As young trees flourish and roots penetrate granite, the presence of old gods and the horse of Hel adds a layer of mystique. The narrative hints at themes of spirituality and the intersection of life and death, as the horse's actions foreshadow a new burial in the cemetery.

JERUSALEM (1901-1902) by Selma Lagerlof, first woman author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, is a story of Swedish families caught up in desire and divine exultation. Homestead tradition and religious inspiration, love and duty, come in conflict in this inspirational and gently bittersweet period novel that follows a pilgrimage of the idealist human spirit of Ingmar Ingmarsson and his kin.

When I was five years old I had such a great sorrow I hardly know if I have had a greater since then. It was then that my grandmother died. Up to that time, she used to sit every day on the corner sofa in her room, and tell stories. I remember grandmother told story after story from morning till night, and we children sat beside her, quite still, and listened. It was a glorious life No other children had such happy times as we did. . . .

Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness! 102 pages

Set in a rural Swedish landscape, this novella explores the life of a young girl living near a marshy croft. Through her experiences, themes of love, sacrifice, and the connection to nature emerge. Selma Lagerlöf's poignant storytelling captures the struggles and dreams of her characters, reflecting the social dynamics of the time. The narrative has garnered attention and has been adapted into various films, showcasing its enduring appeal and relevance.

A curse rests on the Lowenskold family, as narrated in The Lowenskold Ring. Charlotte Lowenskold is the tale of the following generations, a story of psychological insight and social commentary, and of the complexities of a mother-son relationship.

The curse on the Lowenskold family comes to fruition in unexpected ways in this final volume of the Lowenskold cycle with Anna Svard, the eponymous protagonist, taking full and impressive control of her own life and destiny