teacher. Jerusalem, with its first part in
1901 and second part in 1902, became a
huge success. It was followed by The Tale
of a Manor and at the same time readers
began to rediscover Gösta Berling’s Saga.
Her books were mainly aimed at adult
readers, but it was during this period that
thoughts of a school book began to take
shape.
– It was the head teacher Alfred Dalin in
Huskvarna who got in contact with Selma
Lagerlöf, wanting her to write a book for
Swedish school children, says Lena. In a
letter she thanks him for the trust he puts in
her and replies with great enthusiasm that
above anything else, children need to learn
about their own country.
She believed that you had to “bring the
map to life and for the sake of the little
ones’ imagination fill it with forests and
lakes, fields and meadows, villages, castles,
farms and cities from Ystad in the south,
to Haparanda in the north”. And that
is exactly what she did. The Wonderful
Adventures of Nils was published in two
parts, the first one in 1906 and the second
one in 1907.
The story has also been adapted for the
screen several times. A new German TV
series based on the story was launched as
recently as spring 2012.
– Out of Selma’s books, Nils Holgersson
is the one that has been translated into most
languages, around 60 in total, despite the
fact that it was intended as a schoolbook
from the start. In some versions, the
pedagogic setup has been toned down to
make room for the adventure.
Lena constantly receives
new proof that
Nils Holgersson is known world-wide.
– A woman from China, who now lives
here, told me that it was the story of Nils
Holgersson that sparked her interest in
Sweden in the first place. And a while ago,
we were visited by an Arabic TV channel
that wanted to base the whole idea of their
programme on Nils Holgersson.
The story of Nils, who turns into an
elf, leaves his parents at the farm in Skåne
and heads out on a journey across Sweden
together with his friend Mårten the Goose
(Mårten Gås) and a flock of wild geese, has
captured and fascinated children for many
generations.
– It has several dimensions. For a start
it is an outer journey in which Nils, who
is 14 years old when they set off, discovers
different parts of Sweden. Some considered
the text to be propaganda. Sweden is
described in positive terms and it was said
that the purpose was to prevent the large
migration to America that was still taking
place at the start of the 20th century. The
pupils were to understand that Sweden was
a nice country to live in after all.
Selma Lagerlöf wanted
children to learn
things in an entertaining way. She thought
the old traditional geography book was
awfully boring.
– Instead she made use of her amazing
storytelling skills.
It is obvious from the text that Sweden
is a long country. Nils, his friend Mårten
the Goose, the leading goose Akka from
Kebnekaise and the rest of the flock travel
through different climate zones. Flora and
fauna change and are explained.
The story is also an inner journey where
the previously mischievous Nils starts
to change as the journey progresses and
becomes more empathic in his encounters
with both nature and the characters
Mårbacka Memorial Estate
Mårbacka Memorial
Estate: In her last will
and testament, Selma
Lagerlöf decided that
Mårbacka would be kept
as a memorial estate
and be open to the
public. In the summers
there are guided and
dramatised tours.
Special activities for
schools, children
and young people.
Lovely garden restored
1996–1997 under the
guidance of lands-
cape architect Anna
Tandre. Café and tea
garden under the trees.
Mårbacka Handel with
books by and about
Selma Lagerlöf, among
other things.
18 | NATURALLY
