Last Letter Home

Title page, copyright page

THE LAST LETTER HOME i The Emigrant Novels Book I THE EMIGRANTS Utvandrarna Book II UNTO A GOOD LAND Invandrarna Book III THE SETTLERS Nybyggarna Book IV THE LAST LETTER HOME Sista brevet till Sverige ii THE EMIGRANT NOVELS Book IV THE LAST LETTERHOME Vilhelm Moberg Translated from the Swedish by Gustaf Lannestock With a New Introduction by Roger McKnight BOREALIS BOOKS iii The characters and situations in this work are wholly fictional; they do not portray and are not intended to portray any actual persons. Borealis Books is an imprint ofthe Minnesota Historical Society Press. www.borealisbooks.org© 1959 by Vilhelm Moberg (Sista brevet till Sverige/The Last Letter Home) First published by Albert Bonniers Forlag AB, Stockholm Translation © 1961, 1978 by GustafLannestock New material © 1995 by the Minnesota Historical Society. All rights teserved. No part of this book used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written sion, except in the case ofbrief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, write to Borealis Books, 345 Blvd. W:, St. Paul, MN 55102-1906. The Minnesota Historical Press is a member ofthe Association ofAmerican Unciversil:Y Presses. Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica 10 9 8 7 6 5 @l The papet used in this publication meets the minimum requirements ofthe American National Standard for Informarion Sciences-Permanence for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. International Standard Book Number 0-87351-322-3 Libtary Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vilhelm,1898-1973. [Sista till Svetige. English] The last letter home I Vi/helm Moberg. p. cm. (The emigrant novels I Vilhelm Moberg; bk. 4) (Borealis books) ISBN 0-87351-322-3 (paper) 1. Swedish Americans--History-19th cerlru:ry--flCtlOn. I. Tide. II. Series: Moberg, Vi/helm, 1898-1973. Romanen om urvandrarna. English; bk. 4. PT9875.M5S5I31995 839.73'72-dc20 95-15845 iv v A note on the ptonunciation ofthe Swedish names Ii is pronounced like the a in small (see Smaland, literally Small Land) ii is pronounced like the ain add ois pronounced like the ea in heard j is pronounced likey vi ...