Marbacka

The property of M rbacka in V rmland was where Selma Lagerl f grew up, immersed in a tradition of storytelling. Financial difficulties led to the loss of the house, but Lagerl f was later able to buy it back, rebuild and make it the centre of her world. The book M rbacka, the first part of a trilogy written in 1922-32, can be read as many different things: memoir, fictionalised autobiography, even part of Lagerl f's myth-making about her own successful career as an author. It is part social and family history, part mischievous satire in the guise of innocent, first-person child narration, part declaration of filial love. Selma Lagerl f (1858-1940) quickly established herself as a major author of novels and short stories, and her work has been translated into close to 50 languages. Most of the translations into English were made soon after the publication of the original Swedish texts and have long been out of date. This Norvik Press series, 'Lagerl f in English', provides English-language readers with high-quality new translations of a selection of the Nobel Laureate's most important texts.