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Sigrid Undset

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Kristin Lavransdatter: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (The Kristin Lavransdatter Trilogy) Kindle Edition

by Sigrid Undset (Author), Tiina Nunnally (Editor, Translator), Brad Leithauser (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 1,335 ratings

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“[Sigrid Undset] should be the next Elena Ferrante.” —Slate

The turbulent historical masterpiece of Norway’s literary master

In her great historical epic Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset tells the life story of one passionate and headstrong woman. Painting a richly detailed backdrop, Undset immerses readers in the day-to-day life, social conventions, and political and religious undercurrents of the period. Now in one volume, Tiina Nunnally’s award-winning definitive translation brings this remarkable work to life with clarity and lyrical beauty.
As a young girl, Kristin is deeply devoted to her father, a kind and courageous man. But when as a student in a convent school she meets the charming and impetuous Erlend Nikulaussøn, she defies her parents in pursuit of her own desires. Her saga continues through her marriage to Erlend, their tumultuous life together raising seven sons as Erlend seeks to strengthen his political influence, and finally their estrangement as the world around them tumbles into uncertainty.
With its captivating heroine and emotional potency, Kristin Lavransdatter is the masterwork of Norway’s most beloved author—one of the twentieth century’s most prodigious and engaged literary minds—and, in Nunnally’s exquisite translation, a story that continues to enthrall.

This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition includes an introduction by Brad Leithauser and features French flaps and deckle-edged paper.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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1169
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Language

EN
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Publisher

Penguin Classics
Publication date

2005
September 27
Reading age

18 years and up
File size

3.5 MB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) was born in Denmark, the eldest daughter of a Norwegian father and a Danish mother. Two years after her birth, the family moved to Oslo, where her father, a distinguished archaeologist, taught at the university. Her father's interest in the past had a tremendous influence on Undset. She was particularly entranced by the dramatic Old Norse sagas she read as a child, later declaring that her exposure to them marked "the most important turning point in my life."

Undset's first published works—the novel Mrs. Marta Oulie (1907) and a short-story collection The Happy Age (1908)—were set in contemporary times and achieved both critical and popular success. With her reputation as a writer well-established, Undset had the freedom to explore the world that had first fired her imagination, and in Gunnar's Daughter (1909) she drew upon her knowledge of Norway's history and legends, including the Icelandic Sagas, to recreate medieval life with compelling immediacy. In 1912 Undset married the painter Anders Castus Svarstad and over the next ten years faced the formidable challenge of raising three stepchildren and her own three off-spring with little financial or emotional support from her husband. Eventually, she and her children moved from Oslo to Lillehammer, and her marriage was annulled in 1924, when Undset converted to Catholicism.

Although Undset wrote more modern novels, a collection of essays on feminism, as well as numerous book reviews and newspaper articles, her fascination with the Middle Ages never ebbed, and in 1920 she published The Wreath, the first volume of her most famous work, Kristin Lavransdatter. The next two volumes quickly followed—The Wife in 1921, and The Cross in 1922. The trilogy earned Undset worldwide acclaim, and her second great medieval epic—the four-volume The Master of Hestviken (1925-1927) —confirmed her place as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. In 1928, at the age of 46, she received the Nobel Prize for Literature, only the third woman to be so honored.

Undset went on to publish more novels—including the autobiographical The Longest Years—and several collections of essays during the 1930s. As the Germans advanced through Norway in 1940, Undset, an outspoken critic of Nazism, fled the country and eventually settled in Brooklyn, New York. She returned to her homeland in 1945, and two years later she was awarded Norway's highest honor for her "distinguished literary work and for service to her country." The years of exile, however, had taken a great toll on her, and she died of a stroke on June 10, 1949.

Brad Leithauser is the author of several novels, four volumes of poetry, and a collection of essays. He is the Emily Dickinson Lecturer in the Humanities at Mount Holyoke College.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

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"We consider it the best book our judges have ever selected and it has been better received by our subscribers than any other book," says the Book-of-the-Month Club. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002GEDEKG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics (September 27, 2005)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 27, 2005
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3591 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 1169 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #54,176 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #41 in Classic Historical Fiction
- #158 in Classic Literary Fiction
- #220 in Classic American Literature

Customer Reviews:
4.6 1,335 ratings

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Sigrid Undset

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Sigrid Undset (20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.

Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism. She fled Norway for the United States in 1940 because of her opposition to Nazi Germany and the German invasion and occupation of Norway, but returned after World War II ended in 1945.

Her best-known work is Kristin Lavransdatter, a trilogy about life in Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, portrayed through the experiences of a woman from birth until death. Its three volumes were published between 1920 and 1922.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Aage Remfeldt / Aage Rasmussen (1889-1983) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

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JB

Don’t read review with spoilers! This is a great classic book.

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2023

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Here is all you need to know: this is a great work of literature about what it is to be an honorable person; why it is important to be honorable; about trying to live a virtuous life; and what happens when people fall short. As great literature does, it presents the characters at all stages of life, so their life choices play out. Brilliant. One person complained that they didn’t like the heroine. That’s how it is in literature and in real life: people aren’t perfect. God knows I’m not. The heroine is relatable because she’s not perfect. She makes mistakes. Then she tries to atone for them. But she’s human, she gets angry; she gets jealous. She is a real person. If you want feel good fiction, look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a great story, and a great contemplation of virtue and vice, this is a beautiful book. I didn’t follow all the political stuff or some of the more extended family relationships but I didn’t think that detracted from my enjoyment and deep contemplation of the themes in the book. If you love a great story, and human people you’ll love this book. Don’t read any of the long reviews that detail the plot points because you’ll spoil it.

4 people found this helpful

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Melanie

What I expected

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2023

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It's a gift for someone else. It's an old book but I expected that. But an old book in Nice condition. It arrived on time as scheduled.

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2023

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The one thing I didn’t like was the thickness of the book. It should have been published in two volumes.

One person found this helpful

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DarwenM

Superb translation of a masterpiece

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2012

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Two women are responsible for making this Kristin Lavransdatter a five star masterpiece---the novelist Sigrid Undset, of course, but also the translator, Tiina Nunnally. Anyone who struggled through the earlier English translation with its inappropriate use of 'thee' and 'thou' constructions, its strange archaisms and convoluted sentence structures should hurry to reread the novel in this refreshing and enjoyable translation.

Much of the pleasure of this lengthy novel comes from the author's accurate portrayal of life in early 14th Century Norway, especially the attitude of her characters toward the natural world, family life--- love, marriage and children---, work, community life, political matters, the Christian Church and the remnants of the earlier religion that preceded it.

Undset used two of the most common motifs around which to structure her plot, the love triangle and the fallen woman, but there is nothing trite or usual about her use of these plot devices. Kristin is a spirited and beautiful child and young woman who disappoints her father Lavrans when she rejects the man he has chosen to be her husband. This man, Simon Andresson, accepts her rejection of him but continues to love Kristin hopelessly throughout his life.Simon knows that Kristin loves Erlend Nikulausson, a man of a good family but questionable personal character, who meets her, seduces her,(in a brothel no less), marries her when she becomes pregnant, and fathers her children, seven living sons. While Kristin grows aware of Erlend's shortcomings and they are often separated by circumstance, she cannot escape the love/lust she feels for him. Throughout all of Kristin's adult life, Simon and Erlend play different roles in her life. And both men know that even years after her marriage, Kristin remains guiltridden about her sins, especially the sin of the fact that she was no 'maiden' at her marriage celebration.

Once the three men who surrounded her with love, her father, Simon and Erlend are dead and once her surviving sons are grown and need her less and less, Kristin turns all her attention to the Love of God. It is sometimes difficult for modern readers, even those with a strong personal religious background to understand the absolute faith of medieval men and women. Undset does an excellent job of describing this faith in the last part of the novel, The Cross, in terms of Kristin's decision to live out the last part of her life within the monastic rule of the Catholic Church.

Kristin Lavransdatter is a long and leisurely read, but it is book that will remain with the reader long after the last page has been turned. Kristin comes to the reader as a fully-round character with all her attributes and faults. The reader meets her as a small child and follows her life to its conclusion when she is an elderly woman. Along the way she becomes a companion if not entirely a friend.

20 people found this helpful

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darcy1

My all time favorite

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2013

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I read this trilogy over 30 years ago when I was in my early twenties. I remember feeling completely transported into Norway in the middle ages. It was the ultimate virtual reality, when there was as yet no name for it. I found the paperback of the first book of the trilogy, 'The Wreath' about five years ago and re-read it. Again, total immersion into the medieval world; but I myself had changed so much that the book was a much different experience. When I read it the first time I was a hopeless romantic; I did not retain the political and historical events that occurred in the story. I also missed the exceptional descriptions of the stark beauty of Norway. I read it with new eyes, no longer routing for the man Kristin had set her heart on to win her as I did many years ago. When I went to order the second and third books of the trilogy I found them extraordinarily expensive, and they were paperbacks. So, I moved on to other books I thought were of the same genre, looking for something as satisfactory and never finding anything close.

Then I got a kindle as a gift. At first I didn't even want it (commited bibliophile that I was). Then I discovered I could get many classics for free, and found Kristin Lavransdatter once again, ALL of it for less than $18. What was more, it had been translated from the Norwegian into English by a different writer. I was suspect of this as well, would it be as beautifully written in modern English? I liked it the way it was! This was even better. The new translation re-affirmed my belief in this work. The new translation is more spare in its language; it is not re-embroidered or overwrought. It is still magnificent in its ability to render the life and times of a this remarkable woman. There is very little in my life's experience that this character did not face, and much of what she lived I will never have to go through. If you find the middle ages a fascinating period, this trilogy is an exceptional way to experience it. While other writers will give us a "window" into another world we can observe; Sigrid Undstet offers us a door.

9 people found this helpful

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Jodi Grant

Epic

Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2023

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Loved this! The author takes you to medieval Norway and lets you experience the life of a strong heroine. Read it with my book club, and so glad I invested the time with Kristin Lavransdatter.

Jerz Jurkiewicz

The greatest book ever written?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2007

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I believe so. If you are passionate about books you have got to read this one. Simply read the reviews from others who have read it - they are all five star reviews. I own a bookshop, read prolifically, have a personal collection of about 3000 books but this is by far my favourite. It is unique. It covers the life of Kristin from childhood to her death. The richness of her life as a child, her relationships, especially with her father Lavrans, friends, her husband Erlend and her seven sons are woven within the beliefs, customs, superstitions and folk tales of the Norwegian landscape in the 14th century. The Picador version, which incorporates all three books of the trilogy is in my view the best translation and mine is so worn, being testament to the amount of times I have read the book or just picked it up to read a chapter or two. I am passionate about many books but the magical quality of the text in this saga is so rich it sets this book apart. It is not only a pleasure to read it is so inspiring.

5 people found this helpful

LB

Used book means dirty and slightly damaged edges.

Reviewed in Canada on March 26, 2022

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The book content is great. The used copy is dirty and the edges are damaged. Too expensive for a used book.

Maria

but a beautifully researched book about a time most people know little ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2016

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A hard long read about medieval Norway but ultimately a satisfying story of one woman's life from birth to death. It took me a while to get into but became strangely unputdownable fairly quickly. Possibly too much about religion and one's relationship with G.. but a beautifully researched book about a time most people know little about.

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