Betty Elfving

Born in Pori on March 16, 1837, Betty Gustafva Lovisa Elfving was a Finnish writer who published under the name Aura. She is remembered mainly for historical novels, and later reference works note that these books were especially popular in their time.

Elfving began her literary career relatively late, publishing fiction after the age of fifty. Her best-known works include Härkmannin pojat (1887) and the two-part Vuosisatain perintö (1902), novels that drew on Finnish history while also speaking to the concerns of her own era.

She died in Turku on October 29, 1923. Although she is less widely read today, her work remains part of the history of Finnish literature, especially as an example of historical fiction written for a broad readership.