Selma Lagerlöf
Swedish writer, published in Ukrainian translation by Vydavnytstvo Zhupanskogo in the Nobel Prize Laureates series.
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf was a Swedish writer born in 1858 at the family estate of Mårbacka in Värmland. Her father was a military officer and her mother came from a wealthy merchant and foundry-owning family. She was the fifth of six children. A hip injury at birth and a subsequent illness at age three and a half left her temporarily lame, though she later recovered. As a child, she was quiet and serious, deeply fond of reading, and wrote poetry without publishing. Her grandmother raised her partly, telling fairy tales and fantasy stories. She was educated at home, studying English and French, and decided at age seven, after reading a novel by Thomas Mayne Reid, that she would become a writer. The sale of the family estate in 1884 had a significant impact on her; her father was reportedly an alcoholic and opposed her education and involvement in the women’s movement. She later bought back the estate with her Nobel Prize money and lived there for the rest of her life. Lagerlöf studied at a teacher training academy in Stockholm from 1882 to 1885, then worked as a schoolteacher in Landskrona until 1895. While teaching, she began her first novel, *Gösta Berling's Saga*, and won a publishing contract after submitting early chapters to a literary contest. Initial critical reception was mild, but after positive reviews from a prominent Danish critic, her popularity grew. She received financial support to focus on writing. A visit to the American Colony in Jerusalem in 1900 inspired her novel *Jerusalem*, which earned critical acclaim and comparisons to Homer and Shakespeare. In 1902, she was asked to write a geography book for children, resulting in *The Wonderful Adventures of Nils*, which mixed historical and geographical facts with a fictional adventure and became one of her most famous works, translated into over thirty languages. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1909, and the first woman granted membership in the Swedish Academy, in 1914. She was active in the women’s suffrage movement, speaking at the International Suffrage Congress in Stockholm in 1911. Shortly before her death in 1940, she intervened with the Swedish royal family to secure the release of the German-Jewish writer Nelly Sachs and her mother from Nazi Germany.
- field
- Literature
- nationality
- Swedish
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Lore & Background
Selma Lagerlöf is one of the authors featured in the Nobel Prize Laureates series published by Vydavnytstvo Zhupanskogo. This series was originally launched under the imprint Yunivers in 2000, led by Oleh Zhupanskyi, and transferred to the new family publishing house from 2008 onward, becoming one of its central pillars. The series includes works by Lagerlöf alongside other Nobel laureates such as Thomas Mann, John Steinbeck, Henrik Sienkiewicz, Selma Lagerlöf, Ernest Hemingway, Nadine Gordimer, and J. M. G. Le Clézio. The publishing house's founders declared their mission to publish 'high-quality and relevant literature', filling gaps in the Ukrainian book market with works that had shaped world culture. Lagerlöf is also included in the Laureates of the Andersen Prize children's literature series, launched in 2011, which features works by winners of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, including Astrid Lindgren, Tove Jansson, A. A. Milne, Gianni Rodari, and Selma Lagerlöf.
Reader's Guide
For readers interested in Selma Lagerlöf's works, Vydavnytstvo Zhupanskogo offers Ukrainian translations through its Nobel Prize Laureates series. This series, one of the publisher's oldest, was originally launched under the imprint Yunivers in 2000 and transferred to Vydavnytstvo Zhupanskogo from 2008. It includes titles by Lagerlöf alongside other Nobel laureates such as Thomas Mann, John Steinbeck, Henrik Sienkiewicz, Ernest Hemingway, Nadine Gordimer, and J. M. G. Le Clézio. Additionally, Lagerlöf appears in the Laureates of the Andersen Prize series, a children's literature series launched in 2011 that features works by winners of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, including Astrid Lindgren, Tove Jansson, A. A. Milne, Gianni Rodari, and Selma Lagerlöf. The publishing house is headquartered in Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, and was founded in August 2007 by Oleh Ivanovych Zhupanskyi and his son Oleksii Olehovych Zhupanskyi.
Did You Know?
- Selma Lagerlöf is one of the authors included in Vydavnytstvo Zhupanskogo's Nobel Prize Laureates series, which originally launched under the imprint Yunivers in 2000 and transferred to the publishing house from 2008.
- Lagerlöf also appears in the Laureates of the Andersen Prize series, a children's literature series launched by the publishing house in 2011.
- The Nobel Prize Laureates series includes works by Lagerlöf alongside Thomas Mann, John Steinbeck, Henrik Sienkiewicz, Ernest Hemingway, Nadine Gordimer, and J. M. G. Le Clézio.
- The Laureates of the Andersen Prize series features works by winners of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, including Astrid Lindgren, Tove Jansson, A. A. Milne, Gianni Rodari, and Selma Lagerlöf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Selma Lagerlöf?
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf was a Swedish author born in 1858 who became one of the most celebrated literary figures of her era. She is best known for her imaginative storytelling and her trailblazing role in Swedish and world literature.
What is Selma Lagerlöf most famous for?
She holds the distinction of being the first woman ever awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she received in 1909. This milestone made her a landmark figure in the history of the Nobel Prizes.
What are Selma Lagerlöf's major works?
Her most well-known novels include Gösta Berling's Saga and the beloved children's story The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. These works helped establish her reputation as a masterful storyteller.
When was Selma Lagerlöf born and when did she die?
She was born on 20 November 1858 in Sweden and passed away on 16 March 1940. Her life spanned much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Why is Selma Lagerlöf historically significant?
Beyond her Nobel Prize, she became the first woman admitted to the Swedish Academy in 1914. These two 'firsts' cemented her legacy as a pioneer who broke barriers for women in the literary world.
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