From a Swedish Homestead: 'Speak out and have done with it''

Selma Lagerlöf was born in Mårbacka, Sweden on the 20th November 1858.

Her early childhood was blighted by a hip injury that left her with a permanent limp. This physical limitation fuelled a deep love for reading and the long traditions of Swedish folklore that were shared by her grandmother. Before becoming an established author Lagerlöf trained in Stockholm and worked as a schoolteacher in Landskrona for a decade.

In 1891 her debut novel, ‘The Saga of Gösta Berling’ challenged the era's dominant realism with its imaginative, romantic style. She followed this work with others including the epic ‘Jerusalem’ and her beloved children’s work, ‘The Wonderful Adventures of Nils’.

Lagerlöf made history as the first woman to win the Nobel prize in Literature in 1909 and the first to be elected to the Swedish Academy in 1914. She used the Nobel Prize money to buy back her childhood home in Mårbacka.

Outside of literature Lagerlöf was a dedicated activist for women’s suffrage and used her influence to help Jewish refugees, including poet Nelly Sachs, flee Nazi Germany.

Selma Lagerlöf died on the 16th March 1940 in Mårbacka. She was 81.

© 2026 Miniature Masterpieces (E-bog): 9781807548728

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 4. april 2026