author
Marie Linder
1840–1870
Among the first women to publish fiction in Finland, she wrote with unusual boldness about women’s freedom and social expectations. Her life was short, but her work helped open space for later women writers.
1 Audiobook
En qvinna af vår tid: Karaktersteckning
by Marie Linder
About the author
Born into an aristocratic Russian-Finnish family in Saint Petersburg in 1840, Marie Linder grew up in a cultured world tied to both Finland and Russia. After her mother’s death, she was raised in the circle of her aunt Aurora Karamzin, and she later became mistress of Kytäjä Manor in Finland.
Writing under the pen name Stella, she published fiction and is best known for the 1867 novel En qvinna af vår tid (A Woman of Our Time). Modern reference works describe her as one of Finland’s earliest women writers, and her work is often remembered for its interest in women’s independence, education, and place in society.
Linder was also active in the social and cultural life of Helsinki in the 1860s. She died in Helsinki in 1870, only twenty-nine years old, leaving behind a small body of work that still attracts attention for its early feminist outlook.