In the summer of 1890, a Swedish magazine, the Idun, had offered a prize for the best novel of a certain length. Lagerlöf entered the contest with a few chapters from Gösta Berling, a story which was then beginning to take shape in her mind, and won the prize. In Gösta Berling, Lagerlöf is a romanticist and represents a reaction against the realism which prevailed at the time. As a child, she had absorbed the folk tales of her surroundings, and later on in life it occurred to her like a lightning flash that it was her particular mission to give these stories expression. Gösta Berling's Saga has been called the “prose epic of Swedish country life.”[1]
The scene is laid on the shores of Lake Fryken (Lake Löven in the story) in Värmland.[1] Using wolves, snow, supernatural elements and eccentric upper-class characters to project an exotic image of 1820s Värmland, the novel can be compared to magic realism. The title is meant to give associations to the Icelandic sagas. The first sentence, "Finally, the vicar was in the pulpit," is one of the most famous in Swedish literature.
Plot
The hero, Gösta Berling, is a defrocked Lutheran priest who has been saved by the Mistress of Ekeby from freezing to death and thereupon becomes one of her pensioners in the manor at Ekeby. As the pensioners finally get power in their own hands, they manage the property as they themselves see fit and their lives are filled with many wild adventures. Gösta Berling is their leading spirit, the poet, the charming personality among a band of revelers. Before the story ends, Gösta Berling is redeemed, and even the old Mistress of Ekeby is permitted to come to her old home to die.[1]
English translations
It was first translated by Lillie Tudeer in 1894 as Gösta Berling's Saga, but was unavailable in the US and soon out of print in the UK. This edition was re-printed in 1918 by the American-Scandinavian Foundation with edits and 8 additional chapters that had been quietly omitted from the 1894 edition. It was also translated in 1898 by Pauline Bancroft Flach as The Story of Gösta Berling. Both of these editions are in the public domain and have been commonly reprinted by various publishers over the years.
A new English translation by poet Robert Bly was published (with a translator's afterword) in 1962. It was put out by Signet Classics under the title The Story of Gosta Berling. The most recent English translation, by Paul Norlen, was published in 2009 by Penguin.
Main characters
Gösta Berling, defrocked minister and chief character
Margarita Samzelius (née Celsing), the Major's wife — in charge of Ekeby; she gives the cavaliers a place to stay
Sintram, the Evil one who only causes mischief
Marienne Sinclaire (Swedish Marianne Sinclaire), thrown out of her parents' house for kissing Gösta
Countess Elizabeth (Karlsdotter), from Italy, married to Count Henrik Dohna
Anna Stjärnhök, engaged to a minor character, at one time loves Gösta
Countess Marta, mother of Henrik, step-mother of Ebba, rich and haughty
Count Henrik Dohna, Elizabeth's husband, known for being 'stupid'
Ebba Dohna, Marta's step-daughter, extremely religious — Gösta's first love
The 12 Cavaliers: Gösta Berling, Colonel Beerencreutz, major Anders Fuchs, Little Ruster, Rutger von Orneclou, Kristian Bergh, Squire Julius, Kevenhuller, Cousin Kristoffer, Uncle Eberhard, Lovenborg, Lilliecrona
gösta, berling, saga, swedish, gösta, berlings, saga, ˈjœ, sːta, ˈbæ, ːɭɪŋs, ˈsɑ, ːɡa, debut, novel, swedish, author, selma, lagerlöf, published, 1891, made, into, 1924, silent, film, directed, mauritz, stiller, starring, greta, garbo, lars, hanson, gerda, lun. Gosta Berling s Saga Swedish Gosta Berlings saga ˈjœ sːta ˈbae ːɭɪŋs ˈsɑ ːɡa is the debut novel of Swedish author Selma Lagerlof published in 1891 It was made into a 1924 silent film directed by Mauritz Stiller starring Greta Garbo Lars Hanson and Gerda Lundequist A 1925 opera I cavalieri di Ekebu by Riccardo Zandonai was also based on it Gosta Berling s SagaAuthorSelma LagerlofCountrySwedenLanguageSwedishSet inVarmland SwedenPublished1891Greta Garbo in a 1924 film adaptation her first major role Contents 1 Background 2 Plot 3 English translations 4 Main characters 5 Adaptations 6 References 7 External linksBackground EditIn the summer of 1890 a Swedish magazine the Idun had offered a prize for the best novel of a certain length Lagerlof entered the contest with a few chapters from Gosta Berling a story which was then beginning to take shape in her mind and won the prize In Gosta Berling Lagerlof is a romanticist and represents a reaction against the realism which prevailed at the time As a child she had absorbed the folk tales of her surroundings and later on in life it occurred to her like a lightning flash that it was her particular mission to give these stories expression Gosta Berling s Saga has been called the prose epic of Swedish country life 1 The scene is laid on the shores of Lake Fryken Lake Loven in the story in Varmland 1 Using wolves snow supernatural elements and eccentric upper class characters to project an exotic image of 1820s Varmland the novel can be compared to magic realism The title is meant to give associations to the Icelandic sagas The first sentence Finally the vicar was in the pulpit is one of the most famous in Swedish literature Plot EditThe hero Gosta Berling is a defrocked Lutheran priest who has been saved by the Mistress of Ekeby from freezing to death and thereupon becomes one of her pensioners in the manor at Ekeby As the pensioners finally get power in their own hands they manage the property as they themselves see fit and their lives are filled with many wild adventures Gosta Berling is their leading spirit the poet the charming personality among a band of revelers Before the story ends Gosta Berling is redeemed and even the old Mistress of Ekeby is permitted to come to her old home to die 1 English translations EditIt was first translated by Lillie Tudeer in 1894 as Gosta Berling s Saga but was unavailable in the US and soon out of print in the UK This edition was re printed in 1918 by the American Scandinavian Foundation with edits and 8 additional chapters that had been quietly omitted from the 1894 edition It was also translated in 1898 by Pauline Bancroft Flach as The Story of Gosta Berling Both of these editions are in the public domain and have been commonly reprinted by various publishers over the years A new English translation by poet Robert Bly was published with a translator s afterword in 1962 It was put out by Signet Classics under the title The Story of Gosta Berling The most recent English translation by Paul Norlen was published in 2009 by Penguin Main characters EditGosta Berling defrocked minister and chief character Margarita Samzelius nee Celsing the Major s wife in charge of Ekeby she gives the cavaliers a place to stay Sintram the Evil one who only causes mischief Marienne Sinclaire Swedish Marianne Sinclaire thrown out of her parents house for kissing Gosta Countess Elizabeth Karlsdotter from Italy married to Count Henrik Dohna Anna Stjarnhok engaged to a minor character at one time loves Gosta Countess Marta mother of Henrik step mother of Ebba rich and haughty Count Henrik Dohna Elizabeth s husband known for being stupid Ebba Dohna Marta s step daughter extremely religious Gosta s first love The 12 Cavaliers Gosta Berling Colonel Beerencreutz major Anders Fuchs Little Ruster Rutger von Orneclou Kristian Bergh Squire Julius Kevenhuller Cousin Kristoffer Uncle Eberhard Lovenborg LilliecronaAdaptations Edit Set design for the opera I cavalieri di Ekebu Film In 1924 it was made into a Swedish silent film Gosta Berlings saga starring the then mostly unknown Greta Garbo as Elizabeth and popular film actors Lars Hanson and Gerda Lundequist directed by Mauritz Stiller Television Beginning on 10 March 1986 it was released as a 6 part 347 minute mini series for Swedish television 2 Opera The opera by Riccardo Zandonai I cavalieri di Ekebu 1925 is based on it Music In 2004 a progressive rock group from Sweden was formed under the name Gosta Berlings Saga They have so far released six studio albums References EditThis article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Gosta Berling s Saga news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message a b c Joseph Alexis 1920 Story of Gosta Berling The In Rines George Edwin ed Encyclopedia Americana Gosta Berlings saga TV Mini Series 1986 IMDb Retrieved 6 April 2019 External links EditThe Story of Gosta Berling at Standard Ebooks The Story of Gosta Berling public domain audiobook at LibriVox Gosta Berling s Saga at Internet Archive Project Gutenberg and Google Books Gosta Berlings saga in Swedish at Project Runeberg Gosta Berlings saga at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gosta Berling 27s Saga amp oldid 1131052841, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
