Novel
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils
Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige
Selma Lagerlöf · 1906
Synopsis
Nils Holgersson, a lazy and nasty boy from a small farm in Scania, mistreats animals. One Sunday in March, the household elf, whom he has tormented, turns him into a tiny man. Trying to hold back Mårten, the farm's gander, who flies off with a flock of wild geese led by old Akka of Kebnekaise, Nils is carried away on his back. He thus flies over the whole of Sweden, from province to province, pursued by Smirre the fox, and gradually learns to understand animals and people.
Context
In 1901, the General Association of Swedish Teachers asked Selma Lagerlöf for a reading book for schools, which would teach the geography of the country. Alfred Dalin, who led the project, first thought of an anthology by several authors, which she refused. She travelled across Sweden to gather material, and found the desire to write only by imagining the tiny boy and the gander. The book appeared with Bonnier in two volumes, in 1906 and 1907; the journey there lasts from 20 March to 8 November of a single year.
Who it is for
A long novel, in two volumes, conceived first for teaching; it can be read by chapters, province by province.
Prizes and reception
Translated into more than sixty languages, it was, until Pippi Longstocking, the most translated Swedish children's book, and the most widely read work of its author.