This work provides a survey of women's writing in Sweden, from the beginnings of the struggle for emancipation in the 1850s to the present day. These writers are seen within the political, cultural and economic context of women's lives. Modern critical currents are also assessed and Swedish feminist criticism is considered alongside the French and American traditions.

The Loewenskoeld Ring (1925) is the first volume of the trilogy considered to have been Selma Lagerloef's last work of prose fiction. Set in the Swedish province of Varmland in the eighteenth century, the narrative traces the consequences of the theft of General Loewenskoeld's ring from his coffin, and develops into a disturbing tale of revenge from beyond the grave. It is also a tale about decisive women. The narrative twists and the foregrounding of alternative interpretations confront the reader with a pervasive sense of ambiguity. Along with the narrative technique, the spell of the ring extends into the two subsequent volumes, Charlotte Loewenskoeld (1925) and Anna Svard (1928).

In this second part of her notionally autobiographical trilogy, Selma Lagerloef broadens the perspective from the farm where she grew up to include the people and places around Lake Fryken in her beloved Varmland county. The personal creation myth which she began in Marbacka continues here with a focus on the self-discipline and imagination needed to fulfil a childhood ambition to become an author. It is hard work that sometimes means taking a stand against convention but also a deeply enriching process in a home steeped in storytelling and books. The mature author reveals the roots of the young bibliophile's growing skill in deploying fiction to manipulate and embellish reality, producing a wryly charming, tongue-in-cheek account that we should beware of taking at face value.

Nils Holgersson's Wonderful Journey through Sweden (1906-07) is truly unique. Starting life as a commissioned school reader designed to present the geography of Sweden to nine-year-olds, it quickly won the international fame and popularity it still enjoys over a century later. The story of the naughty boy who climbs on the gander's back and is then carried the length of the country, learning both geography and good behaviour as he goes, has captivated adults and children alike, as well as inspiring film-makers and illustrators. The elegance of the present translation - the first full translation into English - is beautifully complemented by the illustrations specially created for the volume.

What happens to an individual who is rejected by society? What happens to a society that eventually realises the living are more important than the dead, and that it is suffering a crisis of values and priorities? What does war do to us and to our outlook on the world? Selma Lagerloef struggled with these issues throughout World War I and experienced a mental block in writing about them. Then she found an opening and produced a thought-provoking tale of love, death and survival that grapples with moral dilemmas as relevant today as they were a century ago. Selma Lagerloef (1858-1940) stablished herself as a major author of novels and short stories, and her work has been translated into close to 50 languages. Most of the translations into English were made soon after the publication of the original Swedish texts and have long been out of date. This Norvik Press series, 'Lagerloef in English', provides English-language readers with high-quality new translations of a selection of the Nobel Laureate's most important texts.

An economical and haunting tale, published in book form in 1904 and set in the sixteenth century on the snowbound west coast of Sweden, Lord Arne's Silver is a classic from the pen of an author consummately skilled in the deployment of narrative power and ambivalence. A story of robbery and murder, retribution, love and betrayal plays out against the backdrop of the stalwart fishing community of the archipelago. Young Elsalill, sole survivor of the mass killing in the home of rich cleric Lord Arne, becomes a pawn in dangerous games both earthly and supernatural. As the deep-frozen sea stops the murderers escaping, sacrifice and atonement are the price that has to be paid.

Written in 1899, Selma Lagerlof's novella A Manor House Tale is at one and the same time a complex psychological novel and a folk tale, a love story and a Gothic melodrama. It crosses genre boundaries and locates itself in a borderland between reality and fantasy, madness and sanity, darkness and light, possession and loss, life and death. Lagerlof's two young characters, Gunnar and Ingrid, the one driven to madness by the horrific death of his goats in a blizzard, the other falling into a death-like trance as a result of the absence of familial warmth, rescue each other from their psychological underworlds and return to an everyday world that is now enhanced by the victory of goodness and love. Selma Lagerlof (1858-1940) quickly established herself as a major author of novels and short stories, and her work has been translated into close to 50 languages. Most of the translations into English were made soon after the publication of the original Swedish texts and have long been out of date. This Norvik Press series, 'Lagerlof in English', provides English-language readers with high-quality new translations of a selection of the Nobel Laureate's most important texts.

The curse on the Loewenskoeld family comes to fruition in unexpected ways in this final volume of the Loewenskoeld cycle. Anna Svard is also very much a novel of women's struggle toward finding fulfillment. The Loewenskoeld Ring resonates with 'beggars cannot be choosers' in relation to what a poor woman can expect in life, while Charlotte Loewenskoeld moves toward women having some choices. In Anna Svard the eponymous protagonist takes full and impressive control of her own life and destiny. The question of motherhood and the fates of the children with whom the characters engage is another theme. The reader goes on to follow Charlotte, Karl-Artur, Thea and their families, familiar from the previous volume, through this compact novel as it moves relentlessly toward a chilling denoument. Selma Lagerloef (1858-1940) quickly established herself as a major author of novels and short stories, and her work has been translated into close to 50 languages. Most of the translations into English were made soon after the publication of the original Swedish texts and have long been out of date. 'Lagerloef in English' provides English-language readers with high-quality new translations of a selection of the Nobel Laureate's most important texts.

A curse rests on the Loewenskoeld family, as narrated in The Loewenskoeld Ring. Charlotte Loewenskoeld is the tale of the following generations, a story of psychological insight and social commentary, and of the complexities of a mother-son relationship. Charlotte is in love with Karl-Arthur - both have some Loewenskoeld blood. Their young love is ill fated; each goes on to marry another. How we make our life 'choices' and what evil forces can be at play around us is beautifully and ironically depicted by Selma Lagerloef, who was in her sixties when she wrote this tour de force with the lightest imaginable touch.

This is the first full-length study in English of the oeuvre of Elin Wagner - feminist, suffragist, pacifist and environmentalist - and also the first to include texts representing a wide range of genres. The focus on gender and community, studied in relation to dominant and alternative discourses, shows a number of Wagner's texts to be considerably more radical than has been observed previously. Some of them are found to have outlined bold alternatives to the Swedish welfare state, and the combination of gender and environmentalism in some of the late texts anticipated much more recent ecocritical work. The edition contains an updated selected bibliography and preface to the second edition."

'Written in 1912, Selma Lagerlof's The Phantom Carriage is a powerful combination of ghost story and social realism, partly played out among the slums and partly in the transitional sphere between life and death. The vengeful and alcoholic David Holm is led to atonement and salvation by the love of a dying Salvation Army slum sister under the guidance of the driver of the death-cart that gathers in the souls of the dying poor. Inspired by Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol, The Phantom Carriage remained one of Lagerlof's own favourites, and Victor Sjostrom's 1921 film version of the story is one of the greatest achievements of the Swedish silent cinema.'

This work provides a survey of women's writing in Sweden, from the beginnings of the struggle for emancipation in the 1850s to the present day. These writers are seen within the political, cultural and economic context of women's lives. Modern critical currents are also assessed and Swedish feminist criticism is considered alongside the French and American traditions.

Feminist writing has emerged in recent years as a major influence in 20th century European literature. Second-wave feminism has not only inspired new generations of women writers but has also stimulated an interest in women's writing from the past. "Textual Liberation" provides a wide-ranging survey of 20th century feminist writing in Europe, presenting texts from a number of countries and highlighting some of the transnational parallels and contrasts. The contributors emphasize the wider context - political, social, economic - in which the texts were produced. They cover feminist literature in Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Eastern Europe, Russia, France, Spain, Italy and Turkey, and consider a range of genres, including the novel, poetry, drama, essays, and journalism. Each chapter contains an extensive bibliography with special emphasis on material available in English.