Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath

Winner of the 2012 Fifty Books/Fifty Covers show, organized by Design Observer in association with AIGA and Designers & Books

Winner of the 2014 Type Directors Club Communication Design Award

Praise for Kristin Lavransdatter:

“A master…writing in a prose as vigorous, articulate and naturalistic as the novel it re-creates, Tiina Nunnally brilliantly captures a world both remote and strangely familiar.”
–PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize citation
Praise for Penguin Drop Caps:

”[Penguin Drop Caps] convey a sense of nostalgia for the tactility and aesthetic power of a physical book and for a centuries-old tradition of beautiful lettering.”
—Fast Company

“Vibrant, minimalist new typographic covers…. Bonus points for the heartening gender balance of the initial selections.”
—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

“The Penguin Drop Caps series is a great example of the power of design. Why buy these particular classics when there are less expensive, even free editions of Great Expectations? Because they’re beautiful objects. Paul Buckley and Jessica Hische’s fresh approach to the literary classics reduces the design down to typography and color. Each cover is foil-stamped with a cleverly illustrated letterform that reveals an element of the story. Jane Austen’s A (Pride and Prejudice) is formed by opulent peacock feathers and Charlotte Bronte’s B (Jane Eyre) is surrounded by flames. The complete set forms a rainbow spectrum prettier than anything else on your bookshelf.”
—Rex Bonomelli, The New York Times

“Drool-inducing.”
—Flavorwire

“Classic reads in stunning covers—your book club will be dying.”
—Redbook

Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) was born in Denmark and moved to Oslo, Norway, with her family at the age of two. Her father, a distinguished archaeologist, greatly influenced her, particularly her fascination with Old Norse sagas.

Undset’s early works, Mrs. Marta Oulie (1907) and The Happy Age (1908), were critically and popularly successful, set in contemporary times. Later, she turned to historical fiction, drawing on her knowledge of Norwegian history and legends to recreate medieval life in works like Gunnar’s Daughter (1909).

In 1912, Undset married Anders Castus Svarstad. She raised three stepchildren and three of her own children amidst personal and financial difficulties. She eventually moved with her children to Lillehammer, and her marriage was annulled in 1924, the same year she converted to Catholicism.

Despite writing modern novels and essays, Undset’s passion for the Middle Ages culminated in her most famous work, the trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter (The Wreath, The Wife, and The Cross, published 1920-1922). This was followed by the epic The Master of Hestviken (1925-1927). In 1928, she received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Undset continued to publish novels and essays in the 1930s. As an outspoken critic of Nazism, she fled Norway in 1940 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, returning home in 1945. In 1947, she was awarded Norway’s highest honor for her literary work and service to her country. She died of a stroke on June 10, 1949.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.