AshehougAgency

Into the Childhood Country

In this book we make the acquaintance with three writers - Tove Jansson, Sigrid Undset and Selma Lagerlöf - as children, through the books they have written about their own childhoods. First of all, we find out about the role their senses played in their childhood years: smell, sight, hearing and taste. Tordis Ørjasæter also examines the three writers’ relationships with their siblings, other children and the way they used to play. She writes about the origins of their religious beliefs, their fear of the dark, bad conscience, the pleasure they derived from reading aloud to themselves, and about Christmas and other festivals.

The three women are from different countries and social backgrounds, yet Tordis Ørjasæter discovers things they have in common, which is perhaps more than one would imagine. The book is illustrated with photographs.

First published: 2005, Aschehoug Fiction

Tordis Ørjaseter: Biography and bibliography