Elsa Cecilia Maria Lindberg-Dovlette (13 February 1874 – 8 October 1944) 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

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

princess, known for her stories from a

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

, an environment little understood in Europe at the time. Born 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 ...

to Finnish parents, she married a Persian prince in 1902 and moved into a

, initially in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and later in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. She wrote about harem life informed by her own experience, particularly that of being a European in an Asian culture. Her stories covered the complexity of harem life in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in the period before the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when traditional beliefs and practices were being challenged by new ideas. The books proved popular and were translated into Dutch, Finnish, French and German.

Biography

Elsa Cecilia Maria Lindberg was born in

on 13 February 1874, the daughter of Johan Lindberg, a professor of music and Emmy Wiik, a native of Finland. She started writing for children. Her first book, ''Ann-Lis'', was published in 1901. However, she is better known for her books for adults. In 1902, she married the Persian prince and diplomat Mirza Riza Khan Arfa-ud-Dovleh. She adopted the surname Lindberg-Dovlette, the latter part derived from her husband's name, although she was also titled Princess. She moved to

and lived in his

. Her husband had separated from his previous wife, so she lived as sole wife. The conditions of the harem were consistent with historical practice in the

, which was very different to her life before, including limitations on ability to travel outside the harem. In 1910, she moved to

and there moved into Villa Ispahan, still living under the restrictions of the harem. While living there, she wrote stories building on her experience of life in a harem. At the time, knowledge of what was inside a harem was limited in Europe and interest in the Ottoman and Persian Empires was ascendent. In almost all her stories, the protagonist is female.The main character in many of the stories, Astrid, was, like Lindberg-Dovlette, a Scandinavian, although the similarities did not stop there. Astrid too gained a hyphenated surname at marriage. Her work was in the style of an oriental fantasy, and covers the multiple challenges of balancing freedom and duty, the different world views of Muslim and Christian, the challenge of traditional customs from modern habits and the conflicts between old and young women. She also included information that is interesting to historians, like the multilingualism that characterised the Ottoman Empire in the days before the

. Even after the creation of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, her writing still reflected the world that predated 1914. Lindberg-Dovlette wrote both novels and short stories, many of the latter being compiled into collections during her lifetime. Her writing proved popular with European audiences and was translated into Dutch, Finnish, French and German. She died in Stockholm on 8 October 1944.

Writing

Lindberg-Dovlette's output included in the following: * ''Ann-Lis'', 1901 * ''Kvinnor från minareternas stad'' (''Women from the City of Minarets''), 1908 * ''I alla tonarter'' (''In all keys''), 1921 * ''Främling'' (''Stranger''), 1924 * ''Bakom stängda haremsdörrar'' (''Behind Closed Harem Doors''), 1931

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindberg-Dovlette, Elsa 1874 births 1944 deaths 20th-century Swedish women writers Writers from Stockholm Swedish women children's writers