Kristin Lavransdatter II: The Wife (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Editor, Translator), Sherrill Harbison (Introduction) "THE difficulties of reproducing Italian cooking abroad are much the same as the difficulties attendant upon any good cooking outside its country of origin, and..." (more)
Key Phrases: linen wimple, outer bench, royal retainers, Sir Erling, Erling Vidkunsson, Sira Eiliv (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In Kristin Lavransdatter (1920-1922), Sigrid Undset interweaves political, social, and religious history with the daily aspects of family life to create a colorful, richly detailed tapestry of Norway during the fourteenth-century. The trilogy, however, is more than a journey into the past. Undset's own life—her familiarity with Norse sagas and folklore and with a wide range of medieval literature, her experiences as a daughter, wife, and mother, and her deep religious faith—profoundly influenced her writing. Her grasp of the connections between past and present and of human nature itself, combined with the extraordinary quality of her writing, sets her works far above the genre of "historical novels." This new translation by Tina Nunnally—the first English version since Charles Archer's translation in the 1920s—captures Undset's strengths as a stylist. Nunnally, an award-winning translator, retains the natural dialog and lyrical flow of the original Norwegian, with its echoes of Old Norse legends, while deftly avoiding the stilted language and false archaisms of Archer's translation. In addition, she restores key passages left out of that edition.

Undset's ability to present a meticulously accurate historical portrait without sacrificing the poetry and narrative drive of masterful storytelling was particularly significant in her homeland. Granted independence in 1905 after five hundred years of foreign domination, Norway was eager to reclaim its national history and culture. Kristin Lavransdatter became a touchstone for Undset's contemporaries, and continues to be widely read by Norwegians today. In the more than 75 years since it was first published, it has also become a favorite throughout the world.

About the Author

Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) was a Norwegian writer best known for her three- volume medieval epic, Kristin Lavransdatter and the four-volume The Master of Hestviken. She won the Nobel Prize in 1928.

Tiina Nunnally's translation of Peter Hoeg's bestseller Smilla's Sense of Snow won the Lewis Galantiere Prize, given by the American Translators Association. Her translation for the Penguin Classics Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath was nominated for the PEN Center USA West Translation Award.

Sherrill Harbison is a Visiting Lecturer at Trinity College and an Associate of the Five Colleges. She is also the editor of the Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics editions of Undset's Gunnar's Daughter and Willa Cather's The Song of the Lark.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141181281
• ISBN-13: 978-0141181288
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars After the Romance, July 16, 2002

By	Sammy Jo "sammy_jo" (Midwest) - See all my reviews

Most romance novels present us with the trials and tribulations of star-crossed lovers, who in the end marry and live happily ever after. The first volume of Sigrid Undset's fine trilogy, THE WREATH, took us through the romance between Kristin Lavransdatter and Erland, concluding in their wedding. Unlike most romance novels, however, that novel foreshadowed the difficulties that the protagonists were likely to encounter in marriage. THE WIFE is the story of that marriage, with all of its strengths and weaknesses.

Once again, Undset succeeds in depicting a wide range of real people, in all their human glory. Kristin begins the novel with a pilgrimage in penance for her sin (she was already pregnant on her wedding day), and while she finds forgiveness, she struggles through the rest of the novel to learn how to forgive her husband. Erland begins the novel as an irresponsible man who seems lucky to have someone like Kristin. By the end of the novel, we see him rising above anything that could have been expected of him as he faces torture and imprisonment with dignity. There are no good guys and bad guys here, just human beings doing their best, yet struggling with their own passions and limitations. Undset's insight into the human condition is remarkable. And while Kristin and Erland do not achieve the illusory, romantic happiness that is celebrated in most romance novels, they find themselves with something much richer: a marriage in which a husband and a wife have learned to love each other in full knowledge of their mutual failings.

Undset was a great student of human nature, and she particularly understood our failings and our need to find redemption. By the end of the novel, Kristin has learned much in life, but her journey is not yet over. And so we move on to the final volume, THE CROSS.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kristin Lavransdatter II, The Bride, April 13, 2000

By	Edmond Bliven "ebracine" (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

Sigrid Undset was the first woman to win the Nobel prize for literature. Since Kristin Lavransdatter was first published in America in the 1920s, succeeding generations have read it and found Kristin and Erland's story resonated in their hearts in a way that few books do. Undset has the rare gift of understanding the inner feelings of men as well as women.

Those who have struggled with the artificially archaic language of Charles Archer's translation will welcome this new version by Tiina Nunnally. She has also restored some parts that Archer eliminated, perhaps because he found them too sexually explicit for readers of English in the 1920s.

But, by all means start with the first volume, which, with volume III, is also available in the Nunnally translation.

Edmond Bliven

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Heart of the Medieval Mind, March 12, 2000

By	Leo Schulte "shlt" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

Sigrid Undset perfectly captures one of the essential personal conflicts of the Middle Ages: the strictures of the Church and a patriarchal society on love and marriage. Having followed her heart and her feelings of love, Kristin is unfortunately therefore placed at odds with her family and the Church. Her search for reconciliation (or at least some accomodation) is fascinating, a marvelous spiritual journey. The typical medieval mind often had the terror of hellfire hanging over it, and we see this in the early part of this novel, as Kristin, full of guilt, makes a pilgrimage with her newborn son to find redemption. The politics of feudalism eventually intrude and complicate her life, as her husband becomes more involved in court intrigues. This translation is most excellent: it beats the silly pseudo-Old English one from the 1920's. I hope Tiina Nunnally will eventually translate all of Undset's works!