Selma Lagerlöf poetically recorded old Norse fairytales and profoundly influenced Swedish identity. Her work was so brilliant, she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909. In old age, she turned her poetic pen to her own life, recalling winters in the 1860s at her beloved Varmland farmhouse, Mårbaka.
For our annual Christmas Special, we bring her poignant memoirs to life, accompanied by an audio feast of traditional Swedish music. God Jul!
Music featured in this episode was generously shared by Blås, Balg & Tagel, Haga Vokalensemble, MrsBean 1987, Kevin MacLeod, Aaron Kenny, DJ Williams, The Westerlies, and Wayne Jones.
You can find a digital copy of Mårbaka and all Selma Lagerlöf's books at Gutenberg Project.
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THE COUNTERFEIT COUNTESS Janina Mehlberg
THE VOYAGER Hannah Masury Howe
THE SOLID CITIZEN Frances Perkins
THE EQUESTRIAN Anna Sewell
THE GUNG-HO ORIGINAL Helen Foster Snow
THE WILD CHILD Alice Roosevelt
THE BOSTON BRAHMIN Ethel Gibson Allen
THE BLOOD COUNTESS Elizabeth Báthory
THE MONGOL KHATUN Genghis Khan's Daughters
THE QUEEN OF HAITI Marie-Louise Christophe
THE ANTI-FASCIST Gerda Taro
THE CLEANING LADY Seraphine of Senlis
THE WESTERN WOMAN Rattlesnake Kate Slaughterback
THE WOMAN KING Hatshepsut
THE PUNA HELE Mary Kawena Puku'i
THE ACCUSED Clara Ford
THE DISCOVERY Naia
THE SUN QUEEN Maria Telkes
THE PIRATE QUEEN OF CONNACHT Grace O'Malley
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