“[Sigrid Undset] should be the next Elena Ferrante.” —SlateThe 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 … 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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There is a reason Sigrid Undset won the Nobel Prize for Literature. She wrote the most amazing historical novels. Calling them historical novels doesn’t really do them justice. They are so masterfully written and full of incredible research it is more like reading a wonderful history book. She pulls you into the story. It is though you can hear the rushes on the floors as you walk, smell the smoke of the fire and the stiff, yet soft warmth of the sleeping furs. When I want to escape the harshness of concrete and the smell of gas motors I pick up Kristin Lavransdatter.
This was almost required reading when I married into a family of Norwegians. It’s unforgettable and makes a lasting impression when it comes to what it was like to live in the Middle Ages. Learning about the past always makes me thankful for the conveniences and the medical advances in my era. But this isn’t an easy, entertaining read. Still … it’s well worth the effort and time.
This is the life story of a medieval Norwegian woman who finds herself amidst the morals of her time and yet caught up in the love for her intended, with drastic consequences. We see the inevitable outcomes that follow her, and yet are stirred by her indomitable will to survive and prosper. This is a great picture of the moral emphasis of the Church and its hold on society. Many novels have followed this path, from Kristin Lavransdatter to Hester Prynne, as well as modern iterations, but this one has such fidelity to the everyday life of women in this historical period.
This book stands alone but is part of a trilogy that is well worth reading.
One of my absolute favorite books (a series, actually). Written by a Norwegian author, Sigrid Undset, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, and who was a family friend of my grandmother when she was a girl in Lillehammer, Norway.
Just a terrible book very fractured and lots of unnecessary explanations that only slightly tie into story.The one aspect that is good is descriptive wrong style but this got lost in all the lack of continuation of the story line .Sorry I cannot recommend this at all!
This is #2 (after War And Peace and before West With The Night) on my lifetime favorite books list. It is a trilogy that is just engrossing. It’s author won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1932 (? Or thereabouts). This is “literature” at it’s very best. DON’T MISS IT.
One of my top ten books EVER. I read it many years ago and grabbed the chance to have it handy on my devices. I’ve loaned the paper copy a few times, and people are always stunned. It’s no wonder Undset won the Nobel prize for literature. This is one of the great works of all centuries.
This book won the Nobel Prize for literature and was my grandmother’s favorite book of all time, and she was a huge reader. I read it in my twenties and loved it as well. Somehow it went missing and I just bought a used copy from Amazon so I could read it again and own it. Kristin Lavransdatter is not only a vivid view of Norway at the advent of Christianity, it is the compelling story of her life and her loves, including her family and her father, Lavrans. It cannot be categorized easily under the “What did you like about this book.” You see the every-day use of cross country skiing, how people kept warm, what a woman’s place was in that society, and all in an enticing style that easily makes you care about the characters, particularly Kristin and Lavrans. I was so taken with the book, that I went on to read the three-book series that Undset wrote, The Master of Hestviken. That is just as compelling but a much, much darker view into the period…probably because the characters were not as well off as Lavran’s family. I would not call this an easy read, mostly because what I used to think of as an easy read seems harder to me now, after skimming internet articles. But please do try this book. It is supremely worthwhile, enjoyable, and heart-breaking.
Could not finish! Being half Norwegian I was really looking forward to learning about their culture and life in the 15th century. This author focuses a lot on descriptive prose…every single chapter. Exhaustive descriptions of every tree, rock, cloud and blade of grass. I found myself not liking the heroine at all! I got so sick & tired of her crying all the time, fainting, brooding and feeling sorry for herself. Forced myself half way through the book hoping it would get better…it didn’t!
This was my mother’s favorite book of all time; she read it in the 30s when she was 16. (The translation took a little more work to get through then.) Not surprisingly, I am named Kristin. It took me until I was 50 to get around to reading it. Now I am rereading it a second time, almost a decade later. It really is THAT good (!!), and Tiina Nunally’s translation of it makes it much easier to understand than the version my mother read. If you can get through the first 80-100 pages, with all the Scandinavian names, etc. you will be launched into an unforgettable epic tale in which you will be immersed for 100s of pages… Lucky you!
Great book.
I loved this when I read it years ago, but it drags now, at least for me. Tastes change. this is a classic and worth reading
This book which was the basis for awarding Sigrid Undset the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928 is a historical romance of early Christian Scandinavia. This novel is writ large, very large. I fell deeply in love with this story and in some ways have never left
The characters are richly developed and most will not be easily forgotten. The story line will slowly draw you in and when you have finished this very long novel, you will wish for more– lucky you –The Master of Hestviken is not precisely a sequel but another historical romance of the same time and place, a romance with a presaged splash of The Outlander about it.
If long books are not your forte skip this one.
If you read, this is a book you should not miss!
My all time favorite book. I’ve read it about four times.
Since this is a long past culture, it is very interesting to see how people lived during this time. Rules that we no longer use stop natural responses we might have. Maybe this culture was easier to keep families together but the cost is high.
Slow…. Story line is repetitive… Found myself flipping pages ahead to surpass stagnant wandering.
Once you start this book and the two others that follow you will not be able to put any of the down. What a rich, complex, realistic story about a woman, a man and their love and life and how internal, external happening change the course of their lives. Geat fantastic read.
Written 100 years ago by Sigrid Undset, a Norwegian historical fiction author who was one of the first women to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature, Kristin Lavransdatter follows the life of Kristin, the daughter of a minor nobleman (Lavrans) in medieval Norway.
It gives a rich sense of medieval life, but what makes it a compulsive read (after a slightly slow beginning focusing on Kristin’s childhood) is the character of Kristin herself. Sometimes maddening but always fascinating, Kristin’s life is shaped by her fierce desire to follow her own will and the long term effects of the choices she makes.
Among those choices is to marry Erland, a hot-headed nobleman whose tumultuous marriage with Kristin is one of the driving forces of the book. Undset is deeply interested in her characters, and over time we come to know them all intimately: Kristin and Erland, but also Kristin’s parents (who have their own difficult marriage), her sister, the fiancé she throws over to marry Erland, her children, whom we see grow to adulthood.
At 1200 pages, Kristin is a time investment, but it is one of the best historical novels I have ever read. As an author, the way in which Undset builds fully rounded and very individual characters, and the way that she shows their choices playing out through the rest of their lives, is everything that I want to be as a novelist. Very highly recommended.
My mom gave me the middle name Kristin after the main character in Kristin Lavransdatter, but I didn’t read the book until I was an adult. Good thing! It is not meant for children. That said, it is a powerful story of redemptive love and the persuasive power of passion. Undset does a masterful job creating the Medieval world that Kristin and her family inhabit in Scandinavia. The details are fresh, vivid, even haunting to some degree. While I wanted to scream at some of the choices the characters made, the very complexity of personal choice and internal conflicts spoke to my real life as well. A classic story that transcends both time and place, Kristin Lavransdatter leaves a long-lasting impression. I actually love my name more now as it brings to mind a woman with profound life experience.