Agnes von Krusenstjerna (October 9, 1894 – March 10, 1940) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

writer and noble. She was a controversial writer whose books challenged the moral standards of the day and was the center of a great literary controversy of the freedom of speech.

Biography

Krusenstjerna was born in

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

and brought up in

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

. Niece of Edvard von Krusenstjerna, she was born in to the nobility. She was educated at the teacher's academy of

Anna Sandström ''Anna'' Maria Carolina Sandström (3 September 1854 – 26 May 1931) was a Swedish feminist, reform pedagogue and a pioneer within the educational system of her country. She is referred to as the leading reform pedagogue within female educati ...

in Stockholm. She married David Sprengel in 1921. Agnes von Krusenstjerna was on several occasions admitted to mental hospitals. In 1940, she was diagnosed with a brain tumour; she died on the operating table in March 1940. Krusenstjerna died in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Works

She debuted as a writer with the girls' novel ''Ninas dagbok'' (1917) and made her breakthrough with the Tony novel series (1922–26) about a girl's development in a noble environment. The Tony series was greatly controversial, as it depicted sexual themes as well as mental disorders, which made Krusenstjerna controversial. Sexuality was, before the 1920s, not mentioned in novels, and her books depicted sex and intercourse. The novel series ''Fröknarna von Pahlen'' created one of the greatest debates and controversies of its time in Sweden, known as Krusenstjernafejden (The Krusenstjerna feud): the series described sexual intercourse, which caused an enormous amount of attention and led to a two-year-long (1933–35) debate about the freedom of speech, the relation of literature toward the moral standards, the right of female expression and the right to sexual freedom, which ended with the writers' conference of

Sigtuna Sigtuna is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in the eponymous Sigtuna Municipality, in Stockholm County, Sweden with 9,689 inhabitants in 2020. It is the namesake even though the seat of the municipality is in another locality, Märsta. S ...

1935. She was supported by

Eyvind Johnson Eyvind Johnson (29 July 1900 – 25 August 1976) was a Swedish novelist and short story writer. Regarded as the most groundbreaking novelist in modern Swedish literature he became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and shared the 1974 Nob ...

Johannes Edfelt Bo Johannes Edfelt (21 December 1904 – 27 August 1997) was a Swedish writer, poet, translator and literary critic. A native of Tibro, Edfelt was elected to be a member of the Swedish Academy in 1969, occupying seat No. 17. He succeeded Er ...

Elmer Diktonius Elmer Rafael Diktonius (20 January 1896 – 23 September 1961) was a Finland, Finnish poet and composer, who wrote in both Swedish language, Swedish and in Finnish language, Finnish. He was born in Helsinki. In 1922, he established an avant-gar ...

and

Karin Boye Karin Maria Boye (; 26 October 1900 – 24 April 1941) was a Swedish poet and novelist. In Sweden, she is acclaimed as a poet, but internationally, she is best known for the dystopian science fiction novel '' Kallocain'' (1940). Biography Ea ...

, who compared the affair to the censorship of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Her writing was closely inspired to her own life and can be regarded as partially autobiographical, especially her last, unfinished series, ''Fattigadel'' (Poor Nobility) (1935–1938).

Works

Novels *''Ninas dagbok'' (Nina's diary) 1917 *''Helenas första kärlek'' (The first love of Helena) 1918 *''Fru Esters pensionat'' (Mrs Ester's boarding house) 1927 *''Händelser på vägen'' (Events on the way) 1929 Series The Tony series: #''Tony växer upp'' (Tony's adolescence) 1922 #''Tonys läroår'' (Tony's years of learning) 1924 #''Tonys sista läroår'' (Tony's last years of learning) 1926 The Miss von Pahlen's series: Fröknarna von Pahlen: # ''Den blå rullgardinen'' (The blue curtain) 1930 # ''Kvinnogatan'' (The Women's street) 1930 # ''Höstens skuggor'' (The shadows of the autumn) 1931 # ''Porten vid Johannes'' (The gate at Johannes) 1933 # ''Älskande par'' (Loving couples) 1933 # ''Bröllop på Ekered'' (Wedding at Ekered) 1935 # ''Av samma blod'' (By the same blood) 1935 Fattigadel (Poor nobility) original title: ''Viveca von Lagercronas historia'' (The story of Viveca von Lagercrona): # ''Fattigadel'' (Pauper nobility) 1935 # ''Dunklet mellan träden'' (The shadow between the trees) 1936 # ''Dessa lyckliga år'' (These happy years) 1937 # ''I livets vår'' (In the spring of life) 1938 Poems *''Nunnornas hus'' (The house of nuns) 1937 Short stories *''En dagdriverskas anteckningar'' (The notes of an idle woman) (1923) *''Delat rum på Kammakaregatan'' (A shared room at Kammakaregatan) (1933) *''En ung dam far till Djurgårdsbrunn'' (A young lady visits Djurgårdsbrunn) (1933) *''Vivi, flicka med melodi'' ( Vivi, a girl with a melody) (1936) *''Stulet nyår'' (A stolen New Year's Eve)

Fiction

Her life was portrayed in

Amorosa (1986 film) ''Amorosa'' is a 1986 Swedish film starring Stina Ekblad and Erland Josephson and directed by Mai Zetterling. The story, an adaptation of the life of writer Agnes von Krusenstjerna (Ekblad), details her sexually charged and often turbulent relati ...

References

Olof Lagercrantz Olof Gustaf Hugo Lagercrantz (10 March 1911 – 23 July 2002) was a Swedish writer, critic, literary scholar (PhD 1951) and publicist (editor-in-chief of ''Dagens Nyheter'' 1960–1975). Life and career Lagercrantz was born in Stockholm, Swede ...

: Agnes von Krusenstjerna, 1980 (delvis omarbetad från originalutgåvan 1951) * Merete Mazzarella: Agnes von Krusenstjerna, 1992 *

Börje Teijler Börje is an old Swedish male name. It is a cognate of Birger;Elof Hellquist, ''Svensk etymologisk ordbok''. Lund 1922. Börje is the form that has developed naturally according to the sound change laws of Swedish, whilst Birger is a literary fo ...

: Agnes von Krusenstjerna och David Sprengel, 1977 *Anna Williams: Tillträde until den nya tiden: fem berättelser om när Sverige blev modernt:

Ivar Lo-Johansson Ivar Lo-Johansson (23 February 1901 – 11 April 1990) was a Swedish writer of the Proletarian literature, proletarian school. His autobiographical 1978 memoir, ''Pubertet'' (''Puberty''), won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1979. Biogr ...

, Agnes von Krusenstjerna,

Vilhelm Moberg Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his four‑volume series ''The Emigrant ...

Moa Martinson Moa Martinson (born Helga Maria Swarts; 2November 18905August 1964) was one of Sweden's most noted authors of proletarian literature. Her ambition was to change society with her authorship and to portray the conditions of the working class, and ...

, 2002 *

Anders Öhman Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...

: Apologier: en linje i den svenska romanen från

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

until Agnes von Krusenstjerna, 2001 * Lagercrantz 1951, ''Agnes von Krusenstjerna''; Johannes Edfelts efterord until ''I livets vår'' i Krusenstjernas samlade skrifter

External links

* *
Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krusenstjerna, Agnes Von 1894 births 1940 deaths People from Växjö Swedish women writers 20th-century Swedish nobility

Biography

Works

Works

Fiction

See also

References

Further reading

External links