Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia (Swedish Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren, nee Ericsson, Swedish Ericsson; November 14, 1907, Vimmerby, Sweden - January 28, 2002, Stockholm, Sweden) - Swedish writer, author of a number of world famous books for children, including "Carlson, who lives on the roof" and "Pippi Longstocking". In Russian, her books became known and very popular thanks to the translation of Lilianna Lungina.

Astrid Ericsson was born on November 14, 1907 in southern Sweden, in the small town of Vimmerby in the province of Småland (Kalmar county), into a farming family. Her parents, father Samuel August Eriksson and mother Hanna Jonsson, met when they were 13 and 9 years old. Seventeen years later, in 1905, they married and settled on a rented farm in Ness, a parsonage on the very outskirts of Vimmerby, where Samuel began farming. Astrid became their second child. She had an older brother Gunnar (July 27, 1906 - May 27, 1974) and two younger sisters - Stina (1911-2002) and Ingegerd (1916-1997).

I'm a little ghost with a motor! he shouted. - Wild, but cute!

Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia

As Lindgren herself pointed out in the collection of autobiographical essays My Fictions (1971), she grew up in the age of "horse and cabriolet". The family's main means of transportation was a horse-drawn carriage, the pace of life was slower, entertainment was simpler, and the relationship with the natural environment was much closer than today. Such an environment contributed to the development of the writer's love for nature - all Lindgren's work is imbued with this feeling, from eccentric stories about the captain's daughter Pippi Longstocking to the story of Ronnie, the daughter of a robber.

The writer herself always called her childhood happy (there were many games and adventures, interspersed with work on the farm and in its environs) and pointed out that it was this that served as a source of inspiration for her work. Astrid's parents not only had a deep affection for each other and for the children, but also did not hesitate to show it, which was rare at that time. The writer spoke about the special relationship in the family with great sympathy and tenderness in her only book not addressed to children, Samuel August from Sevedstorp and Hanna from Hult (1973).

As a child, Astrid Lindgren was surrounded by folklore, and many jokes, fairy tales, stories that she heard from her father or from friends later formed the basis of her own works. Love for books and reading, as she later admitted, arose in the kitchen of Christine, with whom she was friends. It was Christine who introduced Astrid to the amazing, exciting world that one could get into by reading fairy tales. The impressionable Astrid was shocked by this discovery, and later mastered the magic of the word herself.

No, I don't think you're sick.
- Wow, how ugly you are! shouted Carlson and stamped his foot. - What, I can’t get sick, like all people?
- Do you want to get sick? - the Kid was amazed.
- Of course. All people want it! I want to lie in bed with a high, high temperature. You will come to find out how I feel, and I will tell you that I am the most severely ill person in the world. And you will ask me if I want anything, and I will answer you that I do not need anything. Nothing but a huge cake, several boxes of cookies, a mountain of chocolate and a big, big sack of candy!

Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia

Her abilities became apparent already in elementary school, where Astrid was called "Wimmerbün Selma Lagerlöf", which, in her own opinion, she did not deserve.

After school, at the age of 16, Astrid Lindgren started working as a journalist for the local newspaper Wimmerby Tidningen. But two years later, she became pregnant, unmarried, and, leaving her position as a junior reporter, went to Stockholm. There she completed secretarial courses and in 1931 found a job in this specialty. In December 1926, her son Lars was born. Since there was not enough money, Astrid had to give her beloved son to Denmark, to the family of foster parents. In 1928, she got a job as a secretary at the Royal Automobile Club, where she met Sture Lindgren (1898-1952). They married in April 1931, and after that, Astrid was able to take Lars home.

After her marriage, Astrid Lindgren decided to become a housewife in order to devote herself entirely to caring for Lars, and then for her daughter Karin, who was born in 1934. In 1941, the Lindgrens moved into an apartment overlooking Stockholm's Vasa Park, where the writer lived until her death. Occasionally taking on secretarial work, she wrote travel descriptions and rather banal tales for family magazines and advent calendars, which gradually honed her literary skills.

How old am I? Carlson asked. - I'm a man in the prime of life, I can't tell you anything more.
- And at what age is the prime of life?
- In any! Carlson replied with a satisfied smile. - In any, in any case, when it comes to me. I am a handsome, smart and moderately well-fed man in the prime of life!

Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia

According to Astrid Lindgren, "Pippi Longstocking" (1945) was born primarily thanks to her daughter Karin. In 1941, Karin fell ill with pneumonia, and every night Astrid told her all sorts of stories before going to bed. Once a girl ordered a story about Pippi Longstocking - she invented this name right there, on the go. So Astrid Lindgren began to compose a story about a girl who does not obey any conditions. Since Astrid then defended the idea of ​​​​education taking into account child psychology, which was new for that time and caused heated debate, the challenge to conventions seemed to her an interesting thought experiment. If we consider the image of Pippi in a generalized way, then it is based on innovative ideas that appeared in the 1930s and 40s in the field of child education and child psychology. Lindgren followed and participated in the controversy unfolding in society, advocating education that would take into account the thoughts and feelings of children and thus show respect for them. The new approach to children also affected her creative style, as a result of which she became an author who consistently speaks from the point of view of a child.

After the first story about Pippi, which Karin fell in love with, Astrid Lindgren over the next years told more and more evening tales about this red-haired girl. On Karin's tenth birthday, Astrid Lindgren wrote down several stories in shorthand, from which she compiled a book of her own making (with illustrations by the author) for her daughter. This original manuscript of "Pippi" was less carefully finished stylistically and more radical in its ideas. The writer sent one copy of the manuscript to Bonnier, the largest Stockholm publishing house. After some deliberation, the manuscript was rejected. Astrid Lindgren was not discouraged by the refusal, she already realized that composing for children was her calling. In 1944, she took part in a competition for the best book for girls, announced by the relatively new and little-known publishing house Raben and Sjögren. Lindgren received the second prize for Britt-Marie Pours Out Her Soul (1944) and a publishing contract for it.

In 1945, Astrid Lindgren was offered the position of editor of children's literature at the publishing house Raben and Sjögren. She accepted this offer and worked in one place until 1970, when she officially retired. All of her books were published by the same publishing house. Despite being extremely busy and combining editorial work with household chores and writing, Astrid turned out to be a prolific writer: if you count picture books, a total of about eighty works came out of her pen. Work was especially productive in the 1940s and 1950s. In the years 1944-1950 alone, Astrid Lindgren wrote a trilogy about Pippi Longstocking, two stories about children from Bullerby, three books for girls, a detective story, two collections of fairy tales, a collection of songs, four plays and two picture books. As you can see from this list, Astrid Lindgren was an unusually versatile author, willing to experiment in a wide variety of genres.

It's sad if there is no one to shout: "Hi, Carlson!" When you fly by.

Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia

In 1946, she published the first story about the detective Kalle Blomkvist (“Kalle Blomkvist plays”), thanks to which she won first prize in a literary competition (Astrid Lindgren did not participate in competitions anymore). In 1951, a sequel followed, “Kalle Blomkvist risks” (both stories were published in Russian in 1959 under the title “The Adventures of Kalle Blomkvist”), and in 1953 - the final part of the trilogy, “Kalle Blomkvist and Rasmus” (was translated into Russian in 1986). With Calle Blumqvist, the writer wanted to replace cheap thrillers that glorified violence.

In 1954, Astrid Lindgren wrote the first of her three fairy tales - "Mio, my Mio!" (trans. 1965). This emotional, dramatic book combines the techniques of heroic tale and fairy tale, and tells the story of Boo Wilhelm Olsson, the unloved and neglected son of foster parents. Astrid Lindgren more than once resorted to fairy tales and fairy tales, touching on the fate of lonely and abandoned children (this was the case before “Mio, my Mio!”). To bring comfort to children, to help them overcome difficult situations - this task was not the last thing that moved the work of the writer.

In the next trilogy - “The Kid and Carlson, who lives on the roof” (1955; transl. 1957), “Carlson, who lives on the roof, flew in again” (1962; trans. 1965) and “Carlson, who lives on the roof, plays pranks again ”(1968; transl. 1973) - the fantasy hero of a non-evil sense is again acting. This “moderately well-fed”, infantile, greedy, boastful, puffed up, self-pitying, self-centered, though not without charm little man lives on the roof of the apartment building where the Kid lives. As Baby's imaginary friend, he is a much less wonderful image of childhood than the unpredictable and carefree Pippi. The kid is the youngest of three children in the most ordinary family of the Stockholm bourgeoisie, and Carlson enters his life in a very specific way - through the window, and he does it every time the kid feels superfluous, bypassed or humiliated, in other words, when the boy feels sorry for himself . In such cases, his compensatory alter ego appears - in all respects, "the best in the world" Carlson, who makes the Kid forget about troubles.

Peace, only peace! Now I will overtake you, and then you will have fun!

Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia

In 1969, the illustrious Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm staged Carlson, who lives on the roof, which was unusual for that time. Since then, dramatizations based on books by Astrid Lindgren have been constantly staged in both large and small theaters in Sweden, Scandinavia, Europe and the United States of America. A year before the performance in Stockholm, the performance about Carlson was shown on the stage of the Moscow Satire Theater, where he is still being played (this character is very popular in Russia). If on a global scale, the work of Astrid Lindgren attracted attention primarily thanks to theatrical performances, then in Sweden, films and television series based on her works contributed a lot to the writer's fame. The stories about Kalle Blumkvist were the first to be filmed - the premiere of the film took place on Christmas Day 1947. Two years later, the first of four films about Pippi Longstocking appeared. From the 1950s to the 1980s, renowned Swedish director Ulle Hellbum created a total of 17 films based on Astrid Lindgren's books. Hellbum's visual interpretations, with their inexpressible beauty and receptivity to the writer's word, have become classics in Swedish cinema for children.

During the years of her literary activity, Astrid Lindgren earned more than one million crowns by selling the rights to publish her books and their film adaptations, to release audio and video cassettes, and later also CDs with recordings of her songs or literary works in her own performance, but nothing didn't change her lifestyle. From the 1940s, she lived in the same - rather modest - apartment in Stockholm and preferred not to accumulate wealth, but to distribute money to others. Unlike many Swedish celebrities, she was not even averse to transferring a significant part of her income to the Swedish tax authorities.

Only once, in 1976, when they collected tax amounted to 102% of her profits, Astrid Lingren protested. On March 10 of the same year, she went on the offensive, sending an open letter to the Stockholm newspaper Expressen, in which she told a fairy tale about a certain Pomperipossa from Monismania. In this fairy tale for adults, Astrid Lindgren took the position of a profane or naive child (as Hans Christian Andersen did before her in The King's New Clothes) and, using it, tried to expose the vices of society and universal pretense. In the year of parliamentary elections, this fairy tale became an almost naked, crushing attack on the bureaucratic, self-satisfied and self-interested apparatus of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, which had been in power for over 40 years in a row. Finance Minister Gunnar Strang sneered in a parliamentary debate: "She can tell stories, but she can't count," but was later forced to admit that he was wrong. Astrid Lindgren, who turned out to be right from the start, said that she and Strang should have traded jobs with each other: "It's Strang who can tell stories, but he can't count." This event led to a large protest during which the Social Democrats were heavily criticized, both for the tax system and for disrespecting Lindgren. Contrary to popular misconception, this story did not cause the political defeat of the Social Democrats. In the fall of 1976, they received 42.75% of the vote and 152 out of 349 seats in parliament, which is only 2.5% worse than the result of the previous elections in 1973.

Listen, papa, - said the Kid suddenly - if I really am worth a hundred thousand millions, then can't I get fifty crowns in cash now to buy myself a little puppy?

Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia

The writer herself was a member of the Social Democratic Party all her adult life - and remained in its ranks after 1976. And she objected primarily to the distance from the ideals that Lindgren remembered from her youth. When she was once asked what path she would have chosen for herself if she had not become a famous writer, she answered without hesitation that she would like to take part in the social democratic movement of the initial period. The values ​​and ideals of this movement played - together with humanism - a fundamental role in the character of Astrid Lindgren. Her inherent desire for equality and caring attitude towards people helped the writer overcome the barriers erected by her high position in society. She treated everyone with the same cordiality and respect, whether it was a Swedish prime minister, a foreign head of state, or one of her child readers. In other words, Astrid Lindgren lived according to her convictions, which is why she became the subject of admiration and respect, both in Sweden and abroad.

Lindgren's open letter with the tale of Pomperipossa was so influential because by 1976 she was not just a famous writer: she was not only famous in Sweden, but also highly respected. An important person, a person known throughout the country, she became thanks to numerous appearances on radio and television. Thousands of Swedish children have grown up listening to books by Astrid Lindgren on the radio. Her voice, her face, her opinions, her sense of humor have been familiar to most Swedes since the 50s and 60s, when she hosted various quizzes and talk shows on radio and television. In addition, Astrid Lindgren won over the people with her speeches in defense of such a typically Swedish phenomenon as a universal love for nature and reverence for its beauty.

In the spring of 1985, when the daughter of a Smålandian farmer spoke publicly about the oppression of farm animals, the Prime Minister himself listened to her. Lindgren heard about the mistreatment of animals on large farms in Sweden and other industrialized countries from Christina Forslund, a veterinarian and lecturer at Uppsala University. Seventy-eight-year-old Astrid Lindgren sent an open letter to major Stockholm newspapers. The letter contained another tale - about a loving cow who protests against mistreatment of livestock. With this tale, the writer began a campaign that lasted three years. In June 1988, an animal protection law was passed, which received the Latin name Lex Lindgren (Lindgren's Law); however, his inspirer did not like him for his vagueness and obviously low efficiency.

And in general, will adults pay attention to some tiny house there, even if they stumble over it?

Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia

As in other cases when Lindgren stood up for the well-being of children, adults or the environment, the writer was based on her own experience and her protest was caused by deep emotional excitement. She understood that at the end of the 20th century it was impossible to return to small-scale pastoralism, which she witnessed in her childhood and youth on her father's farm and in neighboring farms. She demanded something more fundamental: respect for animals, because they are also living beings and endowed with feelings.

Astrid Lindgren's deep belief in non-violent treatment extended to both animals and children. “Only not violence,” she called her speech at the 1978 presentation of the Peace Prize of the German Bookseller (received by her for the story The Brothers Lionheart (1973; trans. 1981) and for the writer’s struggle for peaceful coexistence and a decent life for all Living creatures). In this speech, Astrid Lindgren defended her pacifist beliefs and advocated raising children without violence and corporal punishment. “We all know,” Lindgren reminded, “that children who are beaten and abused will themselves beat and abuse their children, and therefore this vicious circle must be broken.”

Astrid Sture's husband died in 1952. Her mother died in 1961, her father eight years later, and in 1974 her brother and several bosom friends died. Astrid Lindgren has come across the mystery of death more than once and thought about it a lot. If Astrid's parents were sincere adherents of Lutheranism and believed in life after death, then the writer herself called herself an agnostic.

The kid did not understand exactly what it means to be a man in the prime of his life. Maybe he, too, is a man in his prime, but just doesn't know it yet?

Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia

In 1958, Astrid Lindgren was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen medal, which is called the Nobel Prize in children's literature. In addition to awards for purely children's writers, Lindgren received a number of awards for "adult" authors, in particular, the Karen Blixen Medal established by the Danish Academy, the Russian Leo Tolstoy Medal, the Chilean Gabriela Mistral Prize and the Swedish Selma Lagerlöf Prize. In 1969, the writer received the Swedish State Prize for Literature. Her philanthropic achievements have been recognized with the 1978 German Booksell Peace Prize and the 1989 Albert Schweitzer Medal (awarded by the American Animal Improvement Institute).

The writer died on January 28, 2002 in Stockholm. Astrid Lindgren is one of the most famous children's writers in the world. Her works are imbued with fantasy and love for children. Many of them have been translated into over 70 languages ​​and published in more than 100 countries. In Sweden, she became a living legend as she entertained, inspired and comforted generations of readers, participated in political life, changed laws and significantly influenced the development of children's literature.

Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren photo

Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren - quotes

It's sad if there is no one to shout: "Hi, Carlson!" When you fly by.

And in general, will adults pay attention to some tiny house there, even if they stumble over it?

The kid did not understand exactly what it means to be a man in the prime of his life. Maybe he, too, is a man in his prime, but just doesn't know it yet?

Listen, papa, - said the Kid suddenly - if I really am worth a hundred thousand millions, then can't I get fifty crowns in cash now to buy myself a little puppy?

Peace, only peace! Now I will overtake you, and then you will have fun!

Astrid Lindgren is one of the most popular children's writers in the world.

Thousands of her fans grew up on Carlson's sayings "Trifling, the matter of life" and "Calmness, only calmness", on books about the adventures of "the strongest girl in the world" Pippi Longstocking. But in the life of Astrid Lindgren, who died in 2002 at a very advanced age, there were many secrets. The grandson and great-grandson of the Swedish writer told MK in St. Petersburg why Astrid Lindgren gave her first child to a foster family and hid it for almost her entire life.

"Grandma dressed up as a witch"

Last weekend in St. Petersburg there was a tour of the park "The World of Astrid Lindgren". The Okhta Mall shopping and entertainment center turned into a land of fairy tales for two days, where Carlson lives in a house on the roof, and Pippi and Emil from Löneberga walk along the “streets”. While the children had fun with their favorite characters, adults had the opportunity to meet Olaf Nyman and Johan Palmberg. 45-year-old Olaf is the grandson of Astrid Lindgren, the son of her youngest daughter Karin (by the way, it was she who invented Pippi Longstocking), 26-year-old Johan is a great-grandson. They talked about their famous grandmother, with whom they spent their entire childhood.

When you were born, Astrid Lindgren was at the peak of her fame, she wrote books, went on business trips, she probably had no time for you?

Olaf: - When I was little, I didn't see Astrid as a celebrity, she was just my favorite grandmother. She had a summer house on one of the islands near Stockholm, where she took us every summer - her seven grandchildren. In the mornings we had no right to disturb her, because at that time she was always writing books. But in the afternoon, grandmother herself called us to her place, treated us to crackers with butter and jam (many Swedish grandmothers give them to their grandchildren), we played cards together.

Johan: - Unlike many adults, Astrid has always been interested in how we live. She asked why we were sad and listened in all seriousness to my complaints that someone had taken my toy away from me. But she was already over 90, she could not see well.

Has she ever been angry with you?

Olaf: - I never saw Astrid lose her temper, she almost never yelled at the children. If we behaved badly - for example, we fought, pulled each other's hair - then she, looking at our behavior, became sad. She could make a stern remark, but even so, we saw that she still loves us. And she loved to play pranks herself - I remember once on my birthday (I was 6 years old) I invited friends home, we set up a tent in the room, and my grandmother came in a witch costume. She scared us and drove around the apartment with a broom. It was very cool!

Olaf: - Of course! Each of her grandchildren had all her books, and for the holidays she gave us new ones - with her own wishes on the flyleaf. I loved Carlson most of all, his phrases about “Calm, only calm” and “Trifles, the business of life”, I still say them to myself when I encounter problems in my adult life. By the way, what struck me here in Russia is that Carlson has been your number one hero since Soviet times. And in the rest of the world, the most beloved character is still Pippi.

Johan: - And every night before going to bed I listened to my great-grandmother's tales, recorded on cassettes, read by herself. And now I read books by Astrid Lindgren on duty: they send me scripts for plays and films based on my grandmother's works, I compare them with the original text in order to avoid any inaccuracies. Astrid took the way her characters were "used" very seriously during her lifetime. For example, she didn’t approve the script if people added adult jokes that children wouldn’t understand. Something vulgar or some political remarks. Such things my grandmother severely suppressed.

- What is it like to be the grandson of the most famous children's writer?

Olaf: - I tried not to tell anyone who my grandmother was. But there was always some classmate who “set me up” in front of a new teacher and shouted: “Here he is, the grandson of Astrid Lindgren.” When you are the grandson of a national Swedish heroine, who is considered almost a saint, you have high expectations and sometimes show too much attention. Of course, I was proud of my grandmother, but, for example, abroad I was always silent about whose grandson I was.

“I wanted a child, but his father didn’t”

But in fact, her life was far from “holiness”: the daughter of a farmer from small Vimmerby “disgraced” her family and gave birth at the age of 17. Astrid did not like to remember this fact of her biography?

Johan: - Yes, for the small village where Astrid's family comes from, it was a huge scandal - she was an intern at the local newspaper and became the mistress of her boss - a 50-year-old married man. When a 17-year-old girl became pregnant, she had to keep the name of the child's father a secret, because he was just trying to divorce his wife. When the pregnancy could no longer be hidden, Astrid left for Stockholm, and from there to Copenhagen, where she found the only clinic that allowed the child to be born "anonymously", without giving the names of the mother and father. When her son Lars was born, Astrid had to leave him to the foster family of Stevens, who lived in Denmark, and herself return to Stockholm and look for work. Astrid Lindgren hid this fact of her biography for most of her life, confessing this to journalists only at an advanced age.

- She did not want this child?

Johan: - Later she wrote: "I wanted a child, but not his father." Lars' father wanted to marry Astrid, but she herself did not like it. She did not abandon her son, leaving him in the care of other people. During the first three years of Lasse's life, she cut herself in everything, just to scrape together a ticket from Stockholm to Copenhagen and visit her son, she came to him for weekends, on holidays, and corresponded with his foster family. In Stockholm, she worked as a stenographer, rented a small room for a couple with a girl friend, lived from hand to mouth, escaping herself with baskets of food that her parents sent her once a month from the village. When Lasse was three years old, she took him to her, especially since then she had already met Sture Lindgren, head of the office at the Royal Automobile Club. They decided to get married, eventually Sture adopted Lasse. But the son of Astrid (he died in 1974. - Ed.) kept in touch with his "first" Danish mother all his life.

Strong man Adolf and Goering as Carlson?

- They say that Astrid's second child - Karin's daughter - was the prototype of Pippi Longstocking?

Johan: - Pippi appeared in 1941. One day, Karin was seriously ill and demanded that her mother tell her stories. And she asked for a story about Pippi Longstocking. Astrid wrote down the stories invented for her daughter about a brave red-haired girl and then gave it to a publisher. By the way, the book was written during the Second World War, so it is not surprising that there is such a character as the strongman Adolf, performing in the circus, whom Pippi defeats in a fight.

Last year, shocking information appeared on the Internet that the prototype of the famous Carlson was ... Hermann Goering! Allegedly, Hitler's closest ally in the 20s came to Stockholm more than once and made friends with Astrid. And besides, he loved airplanes (hence the propeller) and often used our favorite expressions "a man in his prime."

Olaf: - Who?! Göring?? No, I can guarantee that it is not. Astrid hated and despised the Nazis, and she had never met Goering. The story "The Kid and Carlson" was written only in 1955. During the war years, she kept a kind of "war diary" in which she described what was happening in the world. The war did not touch her personally, because Sweden remained neutral, but she was very afraid that the Nazis might come to power with us.

In the same diary there is such a phrase, dated June 18, 1940: “For me, it’s better to say “Heil Hitler” for the rest of your life than to be under the Russians. Nothing worse can be imagined."

Johan: - Astrid was very worried about her Finnish neighbors who fought against the USSR in 1939. Sweden was in a difficult position - the Nazis occupied Norway and Denmark, the USSR occupied part of Finland. Apparently, then the great-grandmother feared the communists more than the Nazis. We must not forget the centuries-old history of the Russian-Swedish wars.

Olaf: - Already after the war, my grandmother's attitude towards Russians changed - she even came to the USSR on a visit in the 80s, especially since her books were very popular with you. Because of the Iron Curtain, we did not know much - for example, neither grandmother nor we had ever seen the Soviet cartoon about Carlson, so beloved by Russians. Children from all over the world wrote letters to grandmother - dozens of messages came to her every day. And in her old age, already seeing poorly, she tried to answer everything - for this she even had to hire an assistant. Grandmother has always been on the side of the child - no matter what nationality he is.

Swedish children's writer Astrid Lindgren (née Anna Emilia Eriksson) was born November 14, 1907 in southern Sweden, in the small town of Vimmerby in the province of Småland, to a farmer's family.

After graduating from high school, Astrid took up journalism and worked for the local newspaper Wimmerby Tidningen. She then moved to Stockholm, trained as a stenographer.

In December 1926, Astrid's son Lars was born. Due to lack of livelihood and lack of work, the young mother had to give her son to a family of foster parents in Denmark.

In 1927 she took a job as a secretary in the Torsten Lindfors office.

In 1928, Astrid got a job as a secretary at the Royal Automobile Club.

In April 1931, she married her boss, Sture Lindgren, and took her husband's surname.

After marriage, Astrid Lindgren was able to pick up her son, whom her husband adopted. She devoted herself entirely to caring for Lars, and then for her daughter Karin, who was born in 1934. She took up secretarial work in fits and starts, wrote fairy tales for family magazines and Christmas calendars.

In 1944, Lindgren entered the competition for the best book for girls, announced by the publishing house "Raben and Sjogren" and received second prize for the story "Britt-Marie pours out her soul" and a publishing contract for its publication.

Astrid Lindgren jokingly recalled that one of the reasons that prompted her to write was the cold Stockholm winters and the illness of her little daughter Karin, who kept asking her mother to tell her something. It was then that mother and daughter came up with a mischievous girl with red pigtails Pippi Longstocking. The stories about Pippi were later included in the book that Lindgren gave to her daughter on her birthday, and in 1945 the first book about Pippi was published by the Raben and Sjögren publishing house.

1940-1950s - the heyday of Lindgren's creative activity. She wrote a trilogy about Pippi Longstocking (1945-1952), a story about detective Calle Blomkvist (1946-1953).

Astrid Lindgren's books have been translated into 91 languages. The most popular stories associated with the girl Pippi Longstocking and Carlson formed the basis of many theatrical productions and film adaptations.

Around the world created by the writer.

Shortly after the death of the writer in 2002, the Swedish government, in order to promote the development of children's and youth literature, was one of the largest in the field of literature for children and adolescents. The amount of monetary reward is 5 million Swedish kronor (500 thousand euros).

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

It's nice to talk about really bright and solid creative people who enriched the world around them with bright colors. One of them is Astrid Lindgren, whose biography, unfortunately, is distorted by many myths. Her writings have been translated into more than 100 languages, and her extraordinary personality continues to attract attention. Interest in it does not wane, because even today researchers find unpublished manuscripts of it.

Childhood, family

Astrid grew up in a friendly, kind and hardworking family with four children. The little ones adored their father, Samuel August Eriksson, a respected country pastor and picturesque farm owner who was a wonderful storyteller. Perhaps, thanks to the seeds of fiction sown by him, in addition to the world-famous writer, her two younger sisters, Stina and Ingrid, also became journalists.

The mother of the heroine of our story, Hanna Jonson, was an ideal mother and a diligent housewife, for each of her children Hanna was like the sun. With gratitude, Astrid Lindgren always remembers her childhood. The biography of any child, in her opinion, for his own good and further development should contain lines that tell about communication with nature. Astrid recalls her childhood with gratitude to her parents in two words: security and freedom.

The house of Lindgren's parents, the legendary hospitable in the village of Vimemrby, whose heart was a kitchen with a magnificent oven, has now become a famous Swedish museum. The reader's interest in the writer has not weakened even now.

Youth

When her journalists asked what period of life is the most miserable: "Youth and old age," Astrid Lindgren answered. Her biography confirms this statement. The inner uncertainty of youth forced the girl to assert herself. She was the first in the village to cut her braid and began to wear a men's suit for originality.

A talented girl got a job for 60 crowns a month in a local newspaper. It was the owner of this newspaper, Reinhold Blumberg, who at that time was divorcing his wife, who seduced her. On his part, at that time the father of seven children, this was undoubtedly an immoral act. As a result, the girl was in a position. And the biography of Astrid Lindgren from now on differs not only in the nuances of growing up. Difficult times have indeed come in the life of the future writer.

The birth of a son

At that time in Sweden, single mothers were practically illegal: not only were they not entitled to even minimal social protection, their children were often taken away from them by a court decision.

The pastor's daughter, in order to hide the pregnancy out of wedlock from the strict Protestant flock, in agreement with her parents, went to give birth in neighboring Denmark, in Copenhagen. Relatives living there helped find her a clinic for childbirth, as well as a foster mother for her son Lars, who was born. Having given the child to the care of strangers, which she later regretted all her life, the mother herself left for Stockholm in search of work, dreaming of getting her son back.

While studying and then working as a typist and stenographer, Astrid Lindgren, having barely saved up enough money, hurried to go to Lars. The biography of the writer is especially difficult and touching. Mom felt the defenselessness and loneliness of the child with her soul, coming to Denmark for the weekend, she saw those sad eyes. Later, this impression will be reflected in the book Rasmus the Tramp.

Marriage

In Stockholm, Lindgren worked for the Royal Society of Motorists. The head of this organization was her future husband, Nils Sture Lindgren. In 1931 they got married. This made it possible for the writer to finally pick up her son. The husband adopted him. Astrid Lindgren's life began to improve. True love connected them with their spouse. They, deeply intelligent people, in love with literature, really suited each other.

What Niels Lindgren was like illustrates a fact from his life. In those years, the family's earnings were rather modest, and one day he went to buy a suit for himself with money specially set aside in advance. He returned home with a beaming face, but without a suit, with an effort carrying heavy bales of books in his hands - the complete works of Hans Christian Andersen. Three years later, their daughter Karen was born.

Political activity

However, in the future, their married life was not cloudless. Astrid, on the eve of the World War, to the displeasure of her apolitical husband, showed her involvement in politics. She believed in herself and was inspired by literature - this is how the world-famous writer Astrid Lindgren happened.

What did the inhabitant of a neutral country imagine civilizational challenges to be? Recently published, discovered in 2007 in the attic, the writer's war diaries tell about her worldview. Astrid, like most of the educated population of Sweden, believed that her country was threatened by "two dragons": Hitler's fascism, which enslaved Norway, and Stalin's Bolshevism, which attacked Finland in order to "protect the Russian population." Salvation for mankind Lindgren saw in the recognition of the ideas of social democracy by the world. She joined the respective party.

Start in great literature

Although her first tales were published in magazines and almanacs as early as the 1930s, the Swede herself outlines the beginning of her work in 1941. It was at this time that Astrid Lindgren's daughter Karen, suffering from pneumonia, asked her mother to tell her bedtime stories about the fictional girl Pippi Longstocking. It is interesting that the girl who was in the heat came up with the name of her heroine. Every evening, a caring mother told a recovering child a new story about a fabulous baby. She lived alone, was kind and fair. She loved adventures, and they happened to her. Pippi, with a slender build, was distinguished by incredible physical strength, she had a strong, resilient character ...

Thus, a wonderful collection was created, printed by the new publishing house Raben and Sjogren. He brought the writer worldwide fame.

Boldin Autumn Lindgren

The end of the forties - the beginning of the fifties was marked by a creative upsurge for the writer. At this time, three more books were written about Pippi, two books about Gorlasty Street, three books about Brit Maria (a teenage girl), a detective story about Kali Blunkvist, two fairy tale collections, a poetry collection, four transcriptions of her books into theater productions, two comic books.

Everything seemed to be going great. However, Astrid Lindgren's opposition was great. The list of works listed above, literally for every position, found its way to the reader only after the writer's harsh polemics with literary criticism. And this is not surprising, because the Swede moved the former literary favorites to secondary roles. The Pippi books were the most attacked. Patriarchal Sweden found it difficult to perceive the new pedagogy, where the center was not a teaching adult, but a living child with his questions and problems.

literary heritage

In readers' reviews of the writer's works, her work is compared to a chest full of treasures, in which every child or even an adult can find something consonant with the movements of his soul. Astrid Lindgren wrote various books on her composition and plot for children. Below is a list of the most read ones:

1. "The Adventures of Emil from Lenieberga".
2. "Pippi Longstocking" (compilation).
3. Three stories about Malysh and Carlson.
4. "Myo, my Mio!"
5. "Children from Gorlastoy Street" (compilation).
6. "Rasmus the Vagabond".
7. "Brothers Lionheart".
8. "Sunny meadow" (collection).

Of her works, the writer herself most loved Rasmus the Tramp. This book was especially close to her. In it, Astrid poured out what she felt and experienced during the difficult three-year period of forced separation from her son. A woman, living in another country, could not be with him when he began to speak, play the first simple children's games, when he learned to use a spoon, ride a tricycle. The Swede suffered that she was not there when her son was sick and he was being treated. Astrid carried this feeling of guilt throughout her life.

Of course, the stories about Pippi and Carlson are the most popular stories written by Astrid Lindgren. The adventures of these heroes for most children are the most attractive and original. However, as testimonials testify, for many people other works from the list are more valuable.

The motif of loneliness and opposition to a powerful tyrant is heard in "Mio, my mio". The theme of service, love and courage is uniquely revealed in the Brothers of the Lionheart. However, even in these difficult books, partly tragic, touching the soul of the reader, one can feel the enduring optimism and adamant courage of an open and worthy person. Imi Astrid teaches children to remain human under any circumstances.

Difficult path to recognition

The Council for Children's Books, the most authoritative international organization, in 1958 awarded the writer with the Hans Christian Andersen medal. There was a prospect of huge editions of translations into other languages. However, in every single country, the works of the Swede faced issues of changing details in the interests of the notorious political correctness. So, Pippi's father, the Negro king, involuntarily turned either into a colored man or into the king of cannibals.

Lindgren did not shy away from intense discussions, she supported others. She became the editor of children's literature at the Raben and Shegren publishing house. Her popularity grew. Astrid was entrusted with writing the script for the TV show We're on Saltkrok Island, which then developed into a book of the same name. This timeless piece was destined to become Sweden's national family summer holiday brand. By that time, the writer became known to the whole world. Photos of Astrid Lindgren were published on the front page of leading newspapers; the publishing house where she worked founded her nominal literary award.

The paradox of translating books about Carlson into Russian

Creativity of the writer in time fell on Khrushchev's time of the "thaw". She showed Soviet children that the team is not at all more important than the individual, that a doubting child, not an excellent student, can also be cute and attractive.

In 1957, The Adventures of Carlson was published in the USSR, in 1963 - Rasmus the Tramp, and in 1965 - Mio, My Mio and Pippi Longstocking. As you know, in the USSR during the Iron Curtain, those foreign writers were published who either died long ago, becoming classics, or showed themselves as friends of the USSR.

It turned out quite differently with Astrid Lindgren. Both her books and her political position did not fall under the tracing paper of Soviet official censorship. It was liberating literature, helping us accept ourselves for who we are. "Carlson" helped to better understand his soul, became a lifesaver for millions of Soviet children, bound hand and foot by the "good boy code".

Here the talent of the translator Liliana Lungina played a role. Feeling the spirit of freedom in Carlson against the backdrop of the urban loneliness of Malysh, the translator worked a miracle: instead of a negative character in Sweden, a positive, cheerful and dynamic character appeared in the Russian translation. The Swedish writer herself was perplexed: why was her greedy and arrogant hero loved in Russia? The real reason was the versatile talent of Astrid Lindgren. Reviews of Soviet children with gratitude came not only to book publishers. Children's productions of "Carlson" were sold out in theaters, in the two most famous of which Spartak Mishulin successfully played the main character, and Alisa Freindlich played the Kid.

The cartoon about Carlson also enjoyed extraordinary success. Its highlight was the role of Freken Bok performed by Ranevskaya.

Social activity

In 1978, the German Publishers' Guild presented the International Peace Prize at the Frankfurt Fair. The response speech of the writer was called "No to violence." Here are some of her theses, expressed by Astrid Lindgren. Books for children, in her opinion, should teach young readers to be free. In her opinion, violence should be removed from the life of society, starting with children. After all, it has been proven that the foundation of a person's character is laid before the age of 5. Lessons of violence, unfortunately, little citizens often receive from their parents. In addition, from TV shows. As a result, they get the impression that all problems in life can be solved with violence.

Not least thanks to the writer in 1979, Sweden passed a law prohibiting corporal punishment in the family. Today, without exaggeration, we can say that the living generations of Swedes were brought up on her books.

The death of Astrid Lindgren in 2002 shocked the people of her country. People have asked their leaders again and again, “Why wasn’t such a humanist awarded the Nobel Prize?” In response, the government established the annual State Prize named after the writer, which is awarded to the best children's works.

Working on the Astrid Lindgren archive

Now work is underway on the archive of the writer. New documents are uncovered, shedding light on her identity. Thanks to them, she appears more clearly, her emotions, thoughts, anxieties are manifested for readers. A resident of neutral Sweden, then still just a housewife, Astrid Lindgren reveals to us her point of view on the action of the war.

Unfortunately, there is no translation of it in Russia yet. However, millions of our people are waiting for it. After all, today we are ready to accept any other point of view. And she is not spiteful, she is just different, and she should be understood. Undoubtedly, it will be significant material for future reflections and discussions, as well as for reassessment. After all, this is a look at the history of a person of European values.

It should be remembered that Astrid at the time of writing the Diaries was not the guru who addressed the whole world from Frankfurt. The view of Western man on the expedient actions of the state is fundamentally different from ours. The focus of care of a democratic country and society is not ideology, not state interests, but people. In the post-Soviet space, they are not used to this. Let us recall, for example, how Britain withdrew its army from the continent: at first, every single soldier was taken out on ships, and only then - equipment.

Conclusion

The reader is impressed by Astrid Lindgren's sincere and witty style of narration. Her books, intended for children, pose a rather difficult but fundamental question to society about recognizing the needs and demands of children.

The heroes of the Swedish writer suffer from loneliness, but they stubbornly oppose public opinion and win. The works of this Master are very useful for children's reading. After all, support is critically important for a child, a guideline in life, expressed in a clear "adult" vision of children's problems. It was this view that Astrid Lindgren was able to convey at the level of children's communication. The writer's books have become a long-awaited fresh breath of air for the obsolete, burdened with patriarchal features of pedagogy.

Astrid Lindgren (full name Astrid Anna Emilia) was born in 1907. She spent her childhood on a farm in a peasant family.

After graduating from school, she worked in a local newspaper, then moved to Stockholm and entered the school of secretaries. On December 4, 1926, her son Lars was born. Astrid Erickson married five years later, Lindgren is the name of her husband. She returned to work only in 1937, when Lars was 11, and his sister Karin was three years old. In 1941, the Lindgren family moved to a new apartment in Dalagatan (a district of Stockholm), where Astrid lived until her death (January 28, 2002).

It was the fairy tale that made her popular - "Pippi Longstocking" (in the original Pippi, but for some reason she became Pippi in most Russian translations), Astrid Lindgren wrote her as a gift to her daughter in 1944. The book instantly became popular, it was awarded several prizes, and the publishers quickly explained to the author that you can make a living from literature.

Her first books, Britt-Marie Eases the Heart (1944) and Pippi Longstocking Part 1 (1945-1952), broke the didactic and sentimentalist tradition of Swedish children's literature, as literary critics like to say.

It is noteworthy that worldwide recognition for a long time could not reconcile the author with the Swedish State Commission on Children's and Educational Literature. From the point of view of official educators, Lindgren's tales were wrong: not instructive enough.

In 1951, Sturr Lindgren, the writer's husband, died. Astrid left children and fairy tales:

Since the early 1970s, books written by Astrid Lindgren have consistently topped the list of most popular books for children. Her works have been published in 58 languages. And they even say that if the entire circulation of Astrid Lindgren's books is put in a vertical stack, then it will be 175 times higher than the Eiffel Tower.

In 1957, Lindgren became the first children's writer to receive the Swedish State Prize for Literary Achievement. Astrid was hit with so many awards and prizes that it is simply impossible to list them all. Among the most important: the Hans Christian Andersen Prize, which is called the "small Nobel Prize", the Lewis Carroll Prize, UNESCO and various government awards, the Silver Bear (for the film "Ronnie the Robber's Daughter").

One of the minor planets was named after Astrid Lindgren, she was awarded awards and prizes from many countries of the world. The children's writer became the first woman to whom a monument was erected during her lifetime - it is located in the center of Stockholm, and Astrid was present at the grand opening ceremony. Not so long ago, the Swedes called their compatriot "the woman of the century", and last year the first museum of Astrid Lindgren was opened in Sweden.

In the 1980-90s, the writer played an important role in the political life of the country, becoming a voluntary defender of the rights of children and animals.

The most famous works of Astrid Lindgren.

Pippi Longstocking - 1945

Mio, my Mio! - 1954

Kid and Carlson, who lives on the roof - 1955

Carlson, who lives on the roof, flew in again - 1962

Carlson reappears, who lives on the roof - 1968

The famous detective Kalle Blumkvist - 1946

Rasmus the Tramp - 1956

Emil from Lenneberga - 1963

New tricks of Emil from Lenneberga - 1966

Emil from Lenneberg is still alive - 1970

We are on Saltkroka Island - 1964