Sigurd and His Brave Companions: A Tale of Medieval Norway

Biographical Note

Biographical Note SIGRID UNDSET was born in Kallundborg, Denmark. Her father was a noted Norwegian archaeologist and her mother was Danish. From her father she received her earliest encouragement in the study of Norwegian history and legends, which have formed the background for so many of her books. While she was still a child her father moved his family back to Oslo. Until the German invasion Madame Undset made her home in an old house near Lillehammer in Norway, which dates back to the year 1600. The house was furnished entirely in Norse antiques, some of which were older than the house itself. The wood, of dark pine, was polished by centuries of wear, and through the uncurtained windows could be seen the beautiful oldfashioned garden, with its quantities of roses, delphiniums , and other flowers. For Sigrid Undset loves flowers. Her garden was full of them, and in winter pots of bulbs were kept blooming all over the house. And it was here in remote Lillehammer that Sigrid Undset cared for her family, tended her flowers and wrote the great novels that not only have brought her *37 Sigurd & His Brave Companions the much coveted Nobel Prize, but have established her reputation as one of the greatest living women novelists. But the time came when this peaceful life was destroyed , for Lillehammer is near the scene of some of the heaviest fighting between the German invaders and the Allied-Norwegian forces, and the hated enemy now occupy the once happy home. However, Madame Undset, who now lives in America, knows that some day—and it may be sooner than we think— the glorious Norwegian flag will again fly over her home and all the other homes in Norway. Since Sigrid Undset has been living in America, she has continued her writing, but has not confined it to books for grown-ups. Because she is anxious to have her young American friends understand and love the Norway of today aswell as the old Norway of medieval days, she has written two books for younger readers— her first in this field. In Happy Times in Norway Sigrid Undset has written a moving and wholly delightful story of her own happy home life, renewing the childhood of her three children and sharing with us the memories of those happy days in Norway—happy days that we feel assured will come again. As we chuckle at the pranks and escapades of her two healthy boys, or join in the 138 Biographical Note fun and excitement of Christmas celebrations and family reunions, or listen to the old tales Mother loves to tell and the children love even more to listen to—so vividly has Sigrid Undset pictured the homely details of everyday life—it is hard to believe that the Undset family are not old and loving friends and the homestead in the valley or the farm in the mountains familiar places one has known, loved, and really lived in. Happy Times in Norway is a truly happy book, in which Madame Undset has preserved for all time a glorious picture of Norway and its loyal subjects. The second book, Sigurd and His Brave Companions , is an exciting adventure story of the thirteenth century. Madame Undset has succeeded so well in making these far-away times and events live that boys and girls who share the adventures of Sigurd and his friends will feel as if they had actually slipped back into history, and it will be almost with regret that they will turn again to life in the twentieth century. And now that the boys and girls of America have come to know and love Madame Undset through her writings for them, they will be anxious to learn more of the history and folklore of her wonderful country and the courageous people of Norway. L. J. B. *39 ...