Mårbacka Minnesgård
Selma Lagerlöf is one of the most enigmatic figures in Swedish literature, so it's worth a visit to her former home. Lagerlöf, a limping, ugly duckling, rose from provincial schoolteacher and great storyteller to Nobel laureate and literary queen of Sweden. She managed to succeed as both an author of traditional children's books and an innovative, linguistic modernist. Although she was a staunch defender of public morality -- a Swedish puritan, actually -- this cultural icon was later revealed to be a closeted lesbian. Since 1991, her portrait has been featured on the Swedish 20-krona bill.
Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was born at Mårbacka, 10km (6 1/4 miles) southeast of Sunne and 58km (36 miles) north of Karlstad. The pillared building is kept much as she left it at the time of her death; the estate is filled with her furnishings and mementos. A thinly disguised version of the house, called Lövdala, was featured prominently in her masterpiece The Saga of Gösta Berling.
Selma Lagerlöf is one of the most enigmatic figures in Swedish literature, so it's worth a visit to her former home. Lagerlöf, a limping, ugly duckling, rose from provincial schoolteacher and great storyteller to Nobel laureate and literary queen of Sweden. She managed to succeed as both an author of traditional children's books and an innovative, linguistic modernist. Although she was a staunch defender of public morality -- a Swedish puritan, actually -- this cultural icon was later revealed to be a closeted lesbian. Since 1991, her portrait has been featured on the Swedish 20-krona bill.
Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was born at Mårbacka, 10km (6 1/4 miles) southeast of Sunne and 58km (36 miles) north of Karlstad. The pillared building is kept much as she left it at the time of her death; the estate is filled with her furnishings and mementos. A thinly disguised version of the house, called Lövdala, was featured prominently in her masterpiece The Saga of Gösta Berling.
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