Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath (Penguin Classics) Paperback - 1997
by Undset, Sigrid
- Used
A magnificent new translation of the first volume of a landmark historical saga by a Nobel Prize-winning novelist. Originally published in Norway in 1920, "The Wreath" is set in the 14th century and tells the story of the courtship of a strong-willed and passionate young woman and a dangerously charming and impetuous man. Undset's lyrical prose combines the sounds and style of Nordic ballads, European courtly poetry, and religious literature.
Description
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Details
- Title Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath (Penguin Classics)
- Author Undset, Sigrid
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: Repri
- Condition New
- Pages 336
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Penguin Group, U.S.A.
- Date 1997-12-01
- Features Maps
- Bookseller's Inventory # 52GZZZ00SFUP_ns
- ISBN 9780141180410 / 0141180412
- Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
- Dimensions 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.8 in (19.56 x 12.95 x 2.03 cm)
- Ages 18 to UP years
- Grade levels 13 - UP
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Themes
- Chronological Period: Medieval (500-1453) Studies
- Cultural Region: Scandinavian
- Library of Congress subjects Historical fiction, Women - Norway
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 97018912
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
Summary
In Kristin Lavransdatter (1920-1922), Sigrid Undset interweaves political, social, and religious history with the daily aspects of family life to create a colorful, richly detailed tapestry of Norway during the fourteenth-century. The trilogy, however, is more than a journey into the past. Undset's own life—her familiarity with Norse sagas and folklore and with a wide range of medieval literature, her experiences as a daughter, wife, and mother, and her deep religious faith—profoundly influenced her writing. Her grasp of the connections between past and present and of human nature itself, combined with the extraordinary quality of her writing, sets her works far above the genre of "historical novels." This new translation by Tina Nunnally—the first English version since Charles Archer's translation in the 1920s—captures Undset's strengths as a stylist. Nunnally, an award-winning translator, retains the natural dialog and lyrical flow of the original Norwegian, with its echoes of Old Norse legends, while deftly avoiding the stilted language and false archaisms of Archer's translation. In addition, she restores key passages left out of that edition.
Undset's ability to present a meticulously accurate historical portrait without sacrificing the poetry and narrative drive of masterful storytelling was particularly significant in her homeland. Granted independence in 1905 after five hundred years of foreign domination, Norway was eager to reclaim its national history and culture. Kristin Lavransdatter became a touchstone for Undset's contemporaries, and continues to be widely read by Norwegians today. In the more than 75 years since it was first published, it has also become a favorite throughout the world.
First line
From the rear cover
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Media reviews
Citations
- Booklist, 12/15/1997, Page 684