A World Gone Mad - The Diaries of Astrid Lindgren, 1939-45

As one of the world's most famous children's writers, Astrid Lindgren championed the qualities of courage, hope, love and resistance; and her preoccupation with these qualities was already in evidence in the diaries she kept during the Second World War, long before she achieved her fame. In her diaries, published in English for the first time,, she asks questions which are as keenly and distressingly important today as they were in 1939-45: What is Good, what is Evil? What do we do, when jingoism and racism determine the thoughts and actions of humans? How can we, as individuals, take a stand against such malevolent forces? Alongside the day's political events, Lindgren's intelligent and perceptive diaries include charming and moving descriptions of her domestic life, as well as of her first writing attempts: it was during this terrible period that she composed Pippi Longstocking, one of the most famous, enduring and widely translated children's books of the twentieth century.

About the author

Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) is the third most translated writer for children (after Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm), and her books have sold more than 144 million copies worldwide. She became famous in her country almost overnight, with the publication of the first Pippi Longstocking books in 1945, and was awarded numerous honours, including the Hans Christian Andersen medal (twice) and the Gold Medal of the Swedish Academy in 1971.

Summary

A unique and personal record of the Second World War

Foreword

A unique and personal record of the Second World War

Report

She compassionately, carefully and meticulously documents the horror which was spreading across Europe... these diaries... offer a unique insight into everyday life in Sweden in the shadow of war, and into Lindgren's thoughts on Nazi Germany' - Zeit; 'The war diaries are marked by fear, astonishment and empathy... breathtaking' - Die Welt

Product details

• Authors: Astrid Lindgren
• Assisted by: Sarah Death (Translation), Death Sarah (Translation)
• Publisher: Pushkin Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.10.2016
• EAN: 9781782272311
• ISBN: 978-1-78227-231-1
• No. of pages: 240
• Dimensions: 165 mm x 245 mm x 25 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > Other Germanic linguistics / literary studies; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Biographies, autobiographies; European History, Diaries, letters & journals, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Diaries & Journals, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Letters, Sweden, c 1938 to c 1946 (World War Two period), Diaries, letters and journals, c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), HISTORY / Europe / Nordic Countries