Denna dagen ett liv ("This day, a life", Norstedts 2014) published in English
as The Woman Behind Pippi Longstocking (Yale University Press 2018), by Jens
Andersen; the Swedish edition is translated from the Danish by Urban Andersson.
(Astrid är ju världskänd så jag skrev på engelska så utländska läsare kan
läsa't. OK! --AE)
The most influential writer of Sweden throughout history isn't August
Strindberg. And not Selma Lagerlöf, the first female Nobelist. And Carl Michael
Bellman was a poet, not much of a prose writer. No, the most powerful writer is
Astrid Lindgren! She had an immense, very varied production. It became many of
the most beloved films and TV series. She dominated her branch of the
literature tree for half a Century and has been translated to more languages
than any other. She brought down a government. And when she passed away, was
buried as a statesman.
The Danish professor of Nordic literature has covered her life and work in
Denna dagen ett liv ("This Day a Life", 2014, but the English 2018 translation
was titled The Woman Behind Pippi Longstocking), a phrase the young Astrid
picked up on a impromptu visit to the author Ellen Key, which is also used in
the Saltcrow Island book and TV series. Maybe it takes a foreigner to get a
proper perspective of the giant in Swedish life and society that Astrid was,
though Astrid Lindgren is nearly as popular in HC Andersen's homeland as in
Sweden.
Early life, son in Denmark
She was born Astrid Ericsson in 1907, on the rather prosperous farm Näs near
the ton of Vimmerby in the southern province of Småland. By all accounts she
had a happy childhood resembling what we can pick up from the book series about
the children of Noisy Village or Emil of Lönneberga. Already in school she
wrote appreciated essays and short stories, which lead to she began a career in
journalism as a sort of intern of the local newspaper Vimmerby Tidning at the
age of 16 (circulation ca 5000). But at the same time she grew up to a pretty
rowdy teenager who liked jazz and dance halls and the new exciting media of the
movies.
But disaster struck when she became pregnant with her boss, the editor of
chief of the newspaper. He was 50 and married (but going through a divorce),
she 17. Everything happening around this is described in Andersen's book and
also in the 2018 film "Becoming Astrid", but to cut a long story short it ended
with Astrid having her son in a Copenhagen hospital, a place where unwed
mothers could give birth without having to name the father. The son Lasse was
then taken care of by a Danish foster family until Astrid after a few year
could take care of him.
As it was a hug shame to be an unwed mother, Astrid moved to Stockholm and
trained to secretary, with typewriting and stenography, both of which she
excelled in had had much use of later as an author. She became employed by the
Swedish motorist federation and in 1931 married her boss there, one Sture
Lindgren. In 1934 the couple had the daughter Karin.
Dirty letter reading, began writing
The mother of two became a housewife...but not entirely. Throughout the
1930's she became a small-scale writer submitting some 20 short stories for
children and fairy tales to different publications for kids, for instance
Christmas magazines. (One of the stories sounds very science-fiction-like,
"Santa Claus' Wonderful Picture-Radio"!)
The Second World War became a busy time for Astrid. She had become secretary
for the famous criminologist Harry Söderman and through a job for the secret
mail censorship, ie scrutinising all mail going out from and into Sweden, so
that no secret military or other sensitive information was revealed. "My dirty
job" Astrid called it, as it meant she'd get to read a lot of the most
sensitive, personal letters. But it also meant that she'd get first-hand
accounts of what the Nazis did down in Europe. She knew about the Holocaust
before most other Swedes, and wrote down her experiences and thoughts in a war
diary she started in 1939. (Later published and I reviewed it here May 8th,
2015, as Pippi Longstocking's War. We learn that she continued with these
diaries until 1960, but only the notes up to 1945 have been published. Maybe we
can get another volume later?)
Birth of Pippi
She cared much for her children and read stories she made up for them. One
evening daughter Karin wanted a story, but Astrid didn't know what story.
"Tell me about Pippi Longstocking!" Karin exclaimed.
And that's how it started. She typed the stories of Pippi Longstocking (from
originally having stenographed them - she did all her first drafts by
stenography) and made her daughter a little booklet as birthday present on
Karin's 101th birthday, A version of it was submitted to and rejected by the
leading publisher Bonniers - certainly a mistake of the same class as that
record company that thought "guitar groups are on their way out"! An
interesting sidenote is that Astrid in one of the stenography notebooks where
Pippi was created made a rough drawing of Superman, inspired by the concept
that Pippi was a supergirl, "the strongest in the world". Superman was at the
time only published in the Swedish science fiction pulp Jules Verne Magasinet
and this indicates that Astrid knew about it. Maybe it was the teenage son
Lasse who dragged it home?
The small publisher Rabén & Sjögren was interested, and when the first Pippi
Longstocking book came in 1945 it became a monumental success. The papers gave
raving reviews (with the exception of one John Landquist who thought Pippi was
tasteless, rude and bordering insanity), there were Pippi theatre plays made
and Astrid had to go on signing and reading tours. It also shortly sold abroad
through her Danish international agent Jens Sigsgaard. Pippi sold very well and
probably saved Raben & Sjögren from bankruptcy - after a while. Biographer
Anderson reveals that the publisher was still in dire straits in 1945 and thus
offered to sell 200 manuscripts to mentioned Bonniers - including Pippi
Longstocking - to save themselves. The Big Publisher had a second chance to
pick up Pippi, and missed that to. Maybe they thought that "strong girls with a
knapsack of gold coins are on the way out".
Pippi even became a rather miserable movie, with the 26 year old Viveka
Serlachius playing the 11 year old Pippi. Astrid hated it, and decided that she
in the future would be very careful with how her work was brought to the
screen. Within a decade her characters Rasmus, Blomkvist and Noisy Village kids
had all made it to the screen in much better productions, usually filmed by
Olle Hellbom and Olle Nordemarm who knew how to make Astrid's work justice. She
would also often visit the film set and make sure everything went along well.
Family problems, but many books
Around 1944 there was a crisis in the Lindgren marriage, as the husband
Sture had met another (probably younger and prettier) woman and wanted a
divorce. How this crisis was resolved isn't mentioned much in Andersen's book
and that's a weakness. However, Sture would soon be out of the picture. As a
boss for the motorist federation he went to countless business dinners,
conferences and other events where the alcohol flowed. He developed an
alcoholism which lead to his early death in 1952.
While all this happened, Astrid became very productive. She wrote the first
books about the "Master Detective Blomkvist" (who became "Bill Bergson" in
English translation) where she for instance for some of the insights into
criminology she had picked up as Harry Söderman's secretary. She wrote the
first books about the children of Noisy Village. In the bibliography last I
count to 17 books between 1945 and 1955! As a national celebrity she was also
often in radio, reading her stories (she has a wonderful reading voice!),
having radio plays and being in the panel of the popular entertainment show "20
questions".
At the same time she was offered a job at Raben & Sjögren, so she worked
half-time (afternoons) for R&S and became Sweden's most influential children's
book editor for some 25 years, until retirement in in the early 1970's. BTW,
her books were published by R&S and she edited them herself.
Karlsson, Emil, TV
But she wasn't finished yet. She had to let Karlsson loose in the skies
(which happened in 1955) and get Emil out of the woodworking shed in Lönneberga
(1963), and we also eg got the fine fantasy novel Mio, my Son where the lonely
boy hero is brought to a land far away by magic and fights evil knights - as
most of Astrid's work. Maybe she and Stephen King can have a little fight
about who has had most film/TV adaptations?
Her stories often have lonely children as heroes. Astrid became known for
advocating free but not anarchistic upbringing based on a deep respect for the
child, something that comes from her own experience with connecting to son
Lasse as he grew up with a distant mom during his first years. From the idyllic
farming community of Småland she picked up a love for nature and animals. She
would always fight for the rights of children and animals.
Her love for nature came to an expression in her first TV series, We on
Saltcrow Island (book and 13 TV episodes, 1964; four full-length films
1964-1967) where you can follow the locals and summer guests on an idyllic
island in Stockholm's Northeast archipelago, close to where she BTW had her
summer house. The manuscript was written by Astrid directly for TV and the book
came afterwards.
Fantasy
Apart from her book series - Pippi, Karlsson, Emil and others - she write
stand-alone fantasy novels, which usually were about lonely children who rise
against difficulties and find a meaning in life. The Brothers Lionheart (1973)
deals with the fear of death, one of the brothers who is dying is told they
they'll come to the magic land of Nangijala - where they have to fight an evil
tyrant and his dragon. Her perhaps best fantasy novel came in 1981, Ronja the
Robber's daughter, where the daughter and son of to clans flee into the woods
to live for themselves, and the clans are feuding. It became Astrid Lindgren's
last longer work, as well as the last film of famed entertainer and director
Tage Danielsson, in 1984. Danielsson died of cancer shortly afterwards, one of
very few people who could match Astrid in popularity and in having a strong
voice in society debates.
Because what happened now, as Astrid slowed down her writing, is that she
overthrew the government...
102% in Tax
In the 1950's US taxes were actually higher than in Sweden (I who like Rex
Stout note how Nero Wolfe constantly complains about it) but from the 1960's
and on the Social Democrats decided to step by step socialise as much of the
citizens' money as possible. Collectivist socialist ideology believe that
politicians know better than ordinary people how resources should be spent. One
day Astrid Lindgren notices that she paid...102% in tax! She phoned up the
editor of Sweden's biggest newspaper (it's no longer biggest - newspaper have
big problems with competing with Internet these days) and said:
"I have written a story, Pomperipossa in Monesmania, who pays 102% in tax. Do
you want to print it?"
"Yes, please!" the stunned editor answered.
It was published half a year before the 1976 election and fierce debate
opened. The finance minister, the legendary Gunnar Sträng, was corrected like
little school boy. "She can tell fairy tales, but can't count" he claimed.
Astrid answered: "He can tell fariy tales, but he can't count... Maybe we
should switch jobs?" It is generally asserted that the Pomperipossa debate
strongly contributed to the Social Democrats losing the election and having to
hand over government to the opposition for the first time in 44 years. What's
revealed in this biography is that Lindgren and Sträng actually were in contact
before Pomperipossa. It seems Astrid had written to the finance department and
complained about the 102% and she got a personal answer from Sträng, who said
they l knew about the problem and were considering how to rectify it.
Obviously, the finance minister didn't act fast enough, however.
Active before Stroke
During the last couple of decades (until a stroke in 1998) Astrid Lindgren
became a strong voice in the public debate, in questions like animal and
children's rights, better conditions for farmers and small businesses, against
nuclear power, as an anti-racist, for the environment in general and so on.
Astrid was rather ill after her 1998 stroke. We learn that she lost her
memory from 1986 and on (the year her son Lasse die, of cancer, something
traumatic for the mother) even if she did have a cheerful mode and still knew
the religious songs from her childhood. She passed away January 28th 2002,
after having had more than a full life. Her funeral was on TV and 100 000's of
Stockholmers lined the streets as her coffin passed. I remember I missed to see
the cortege because some paper had had wrong information about its schedule.
But on the other hand, I did see Astrid Lindgren alive. In the mid 1980's I
and my then editor Anders Palm were strolling up Dala street when he suddenly
pointed and whispered: "There goes Astrid Lindgren..."
I refrained from dashing away and ask for an autograph or doing any other
embarassing things. I just felt so small seeing the frail figure of the most
powerful woman in the country.
--Ahrvid Engholm
More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_Lindgren
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_Lindgren_bibliography ;(with both Swedish
and English titles)
ttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/03/astrid-lindgren-woman-behind-pippi-longstocking-jens-andersen-review
(English review of Jens Andersen's biography)
http://www.alma.se/upload/10818/Award%20Lecture%20by%20Philip%20Pullman.pdf ;
(Philip Pullman's lecture as he won the Astrid Linddgren Memorial Award)
http://www.diva-portal.se/smash/get/diva2:240586/FULLTEXT01.pdf ;(Pippi Goes
Abroad - a study)
https://translate.google.se/translate?hl=en&sl=sv&u=http://www.ydrefors.com/Microsoft%2520Word%2520-%2520reportage.pdf&prev=search
(Astrid then ca 17 years reporting from opening a railway for her newspaper
Vimmerby Tidning, through Google Translate)
https://everestlancaster.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/pomperipossa-in-monismania/ ;
(English translation of "Pomperipossa i Monesmanien", the tale that brought
down the Social Democrats in the 1976 election)
https://astridlindgrensnas.se/en/home/ ;(English page for the theme park Astrid
Lindgren's World)
https://www.junibacken.se/en/ ;(English page for the Astrid Lindgren children's
venue Junibacken)
Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9FS-r8LWAw ;(English interview with Astrid
Lindgren)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3g2kqt ;("Mio, my Mio", movie based on
Linddgren's fantasy novel, dubbed to English)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANgulkJBJVM ;(The Tomten, a poem by Viktor
Rydberg adapted by Astrid Lindgren)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcwOtYAWIBc ;(a tour of Astrid Lindgren's home
on Dala Street in Stockholm - in Swedish, but you can see her home at least)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uo_IkW16Tk ;(a snippet of Astrid Lindgren in
"Hylands hörna" in the 1960's, the Swedish equivalent of The Johnny Carson Show)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyQE7Csg8vQ ;(German report from when Astrid
Lindgren would have been 100 years)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcUp2TY1B_s&t=6s ;(German report about her War
Diaries - in the beginning a snippet of Astrid Lindgren by a typewriter during
her career as secretary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H83GFNG2lWQ ;(Astrid Lindgren sings her song
"Ida's Summer Song", in Swedish)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=268VdXiSoFk ;(Astrid's great-grandson Johan
Palmberg talks about her, in English)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYjjV6KZXhY ;(a 24 min excerpt of the first
Pippi Longstocking film, from 1949, not a very successful adaptation)
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