{"product_id":"gunnars-daughter-paperback","title":"Gunnar's Daughter - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eSigrid Undset\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eArthur G. Chater\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eSherrill Harbison\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first historical novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA Penguin Classic \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMore than a decade before writing \u003ci\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/i\u003e, the trilogy about fourteenth-century Norway that won her the Nobel Prize, Sigrid Undset published \u003ci\u003eGunnar's Daughter\u003c\/i\u003e, a brief, swiftly moving tale about a more violent period of her country's history, the Saga Age. Set in Norway and Iceland at the beginning of the eleventh century, \u003ci\u003eGunnar's Daughter\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of the beautiful, spoiled Vigdis Gunnarsdatter, who is raped by the man she had wanted to love. A woman of courage and intelligence, Vigdis is toughened by adversity. Alone she raises the child conceived in violence, repeatedly defending her autonomy in a world governed by men. Alone she rebuilds her life and restores her family's honor--until an unremitting social code propels her to take the action that again destroys her happiness. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e First published in 1909, \u003ci\u003eGunnar's Daughter\u003c\/i\u003e was in part a response to the rise of nationalism and Norway's search for a national identity in its Viking past. But unlike most of the Viking-inspired art of its period, \u003ci\u003e Gunnar's Daughter\u003c\/i\u003e is not a historical romance. It is a skillful conversation between two historical moments about questions as troublesome in Undset's own time--and in ours--as they were in the Saga Age: rape and revenge, civil and domestic violence, troubled marriages, and children made victims of their parents' problems.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSigrid Undset\u003c\/b\u003e (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.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUndset's first published works--the novel \u003ci\u003eMrs. Marta Oulie\u003c\/i\u003e (1907) and a short-story collection, \u003ci\u003eThe Happy Age\u003c\/i\u003e (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 \u003ci\u003eGunnar's Daughter\u003c\/i\u003e (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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlthough 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 \u003ci\u003eThe Wreath\u003c\/i\u003e, the first volume of her most famous work, \u003ci\u003eKristin Lavransdatter\u003c\/i\u003e. The next two volumes quickly followed--\u003ci\u003eThe Wife\u003c\/i\u003e in 1921, and \u003ci\u003eThe Cross\u003c\/i\u003e in 1922. The trilogy earned Undset worldwide acclaim, and her second great medieval epic--the four-volume \u003ci\u003eThe Master of Hestviken\u003c\/i\u003e (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 in Literature, only the third woman to be so honored. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUndset went on to publish more novels--including the autobiographical \u003ci\u003eThe Longest Years\u003c\/i\u003e--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.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 208\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.55 x 7.76 x 5.06 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 01, 1998\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42684548743231,"sku":"9780141180205","price":19.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/4b7a150f91a37af956d3dc64f3a688d8.webp?v=1764967856","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/gunnars-daughter-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}