Samuel August från Sevedstorp och Hanna i Hult is a biographical book written by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, first published in 1973. The work is a personal tribute to Lindgren's parents, Samuel August Ericsson (1875–1969) and Hanna Jonsson (1879–1961), and recounts their love story.
Background and Content
The book tells the story of how Samuel August, a tenant farmer (arrendator), first met Hanna when he was thirteen years old and she was nine. After a period of separation, Samuel August became the tenant of the vicarage farm at Näs near Vimmerby. The couple exchanged letters and eventually married on June 30, 1905, at Pelarne Church. They settled at Näs on the outskirts of Vimmerby, where they leased the vicarage's farmland and lived together for 56 years.
The couple had four children: Gunnar Ericsson (born 1906), who later became a member of the Swedish parliament for the Bondeförbundet (Agrarian Party); Astrid Lindgren herself (born 1907); Stina Hergin (born 1911); and Ingegerd Lindström (born 1916).
Publication History
The book was first published in 1973 by Bokvännerna in Stockholm. A later Swedish edition was published by Rabén & Sjögren in 1975. In addition to the central love story, the Swedish edition includes several essays, such as "Det började i Kristins kök" (It started in Kristin's kitchen), in which Lindgren describes how her neighbor Kristin introduced her to literature, and "Minnes..." (I remember...), which reflects on her childhood inspired by a poem by Harry Martinson.
The book has been translated into multiple languages, including German (published as Das entschwundene Land in 1977 by Oetinger Verlag). An English translation of the title essay, Samuel August from Sevedstorp and Hanna from Hult, was published by the Swedish Book Review in 2007, translated by Marlaine Delargy. Individual essays from the book have also appeared in English in other publications.
Recognition
In 1999, the story was chosen by listeners of Sveriges Radio (Swedish Radio) as the love story of the millennium in Sweden. The book has also been released as an audiobook read by Astrid Lindgren herself. In 2015, the essay "Luise Justine Mejer: en kärlekshistoria från 1700-talets Tyskland," which was included in the Swedish edition, was published as a standalone book by Novelix.
