author
Helena Nyblom
1843–1926
Best remembered for her literary fairy tales, she brought a dreamy, artful touch to Scandinavian children's literature. Her life moved between Copenhagen and Sweden's cultural circles, and that blend of imagination and intellect shaped much of her work.
1 Audiobook
Helena Nybloms Sagor
by Helena Nyblom
About the author
Born in Copenhagen in 1843, Helena Nyblom was a Danish-Swedish writer who grew up in an artistic home; her father was the painter Jørgen Roed. After marrying Carl Rupert Nyblom in 1864, she moved to Uppsala, where their home became a gathering place for writers, artists, and musicians.
She wrote in several forms, including poetry, plays, criticism, and prose, but she is especially remembered for her literary fairy tales, often described in Swedish as konstsagor. Reference works and literary histories note her importance in Scandinavian children's literature, and she is often linked with the rich fairy-tale tradition that followed Hans Christian Andersen.
Nyblom also wrote memoirs later in life, giving readers a picture of the cultural world she lived in. She died in Stockholm in 1926, and her work is still remembered for its graceful blend of fantasy, emotion, and artistic feeling.