Mårbacka by Selma Lagerlöf
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Mårbacka by Selma Lagerlöf is a memoir written in the early 20th century. It offers affectionate, clear-eyed recollections of childhood on a Swedish estate, blending domestic life with local lore and community history. The focus is the young Selma, her stern but devoted nurse Back-Kajsa, her parents (notably her lively father, a lieutenant), her grandmother, and her siblings, with scenes of illness, travel, and village ties shaping a warm portrait of place
and people. The opening of Mårbacka sketches vivid episodes: a formidable nurse, Back-Kajsa, proves dutiful but unplayful until Selma suddenly cannot walk, which draws out the woman’s deep tenderness. Selma’s siblings bridle at the attention her illness commands, a parade of doctors and folk healers fails, and a “high guest” turns out to be a newborn sister, shifting the household’s focus and discipline. The family travels via dangerous hills and a heaving steamer toward the west coast, where summer in Strömstad brings seaside freedom, local friendships, and a brush with superstition on the forbidding “grey island.” Visiting a captain’s home and then his ship, Selma sees a treasured “paradise bird” and, to everyone’s joy, unexpectedly finds she can walk again—others credit the baths, while she quietly wonders. A parting bookmark from a baker’s daughters becomes a talisman that fixes memories of the journey and the sight of home on return. The narrative then turns to an earlier family sorrow: starving landwehrmen are sheltered at Mårbacka, scarlet fever follows, two small children die, and the grandmother wrestles with guilt until her husband’s steadfast comfort restores her. Finally, the text lingers over the estate’s ancient stone buildings and an old servant due a medal, before the fragment breaks. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Lagerlöf, Selma, 1858-1940 |
|---|---|
| Translator | Meijboom, Margaretha, 1856-1927 |
| Title | Mårbacka |
| Original Publication | Amsterdam: H. J. W. Becht, 1923. |
| Note | Appears to be a translation of selected chapters from recollections of the author's youth. |
| Credits | Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 78.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | Dutch |
| LoC Class | PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures |
| Subject | Authors, Swedish -- 19th century -- Biography |
| Subject | Lagerlöf, Selma, 1858-1940 |
| Subject | Sweden -- Social life and customs -- 19th century |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 76129 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-76129-9 |
| Release Date | May 20, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 360 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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