The Tomte at Törebyy

The works of Nobel Prize laureate Selma Lagerlöf (the first woman to receive such a prestigious award in literature) are literally steeped in the mystical atmosphere of the boundless Scandinavian expanses. In her novellas and stories, she shows us how fatefully important is the connection between people, nature, and its creations. Her simple, vivid language echoes the traditions of oral folk storytelling. “But,” as Selma Lagerlöf herself wrote, “to be simple is difficult,” and so it is only possible to guess what labor and mastery this seeming ease required from the author.