author
Fredrika Pietilä
1837–1888
A Finnish teacher and writer from Oulu, she is remembered for a single surviving work of fiction that brings a 19th-century coastal town vividly to life. Her path from trade work to teacher training also makes her part of the early story of women’s education in Finland.
1 Audiobook
Kihlatut
by Fredrika Pietilä
About the author
Born in Oulu on October 29, 1837, Fredrika Pietilä came from a seafaring family. She first worked in commerce, then changed direction and entered the Jyväskylä teacher seminary in 1864, qualifying as a teacher in 1868.
After teaching in several places, she returned to her home city in 1877 and worked at the Kajaanintulli school in Oulu until her death on April 26, 1888. Alongside her teaching career, she wrote fiction.
Her best-known and apparently only literary work is Kihlatut, published in 1878. The book is described as a realistic tale of life in a seaside town, which gives it lasting interest for readers curious about everyday Finnish life and women’s writing in the late 1800s.