Eva Ingrid Elisabet Alexanderson (9 January 1911 – 20 December 1994) was a Swedish writer, translator and publisher. Her best known works are her 1969 lesbian novel ''Kontradans'' and her 1983 translation of

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

's ''

The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical fiction, historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, ...

''.

Biography

Alexanderson was born in 1911 in

Vasastan, Stockholm Vasastan, or formally Vasastaden, ( Swedish for "Vasa town") is a 3.00 km2 large city district in central Stockholm, Sweden, being a part of Norrmalm borough. The major parks in Vasastaden are Vasaparken and Observatorielunden near the ce ...

. She graduated from upper secondary school in 1930 and received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1935. She then joined the lexicography department of the publishing house Svenska Bokförlag, where she worked for three years. In this period she travelled for long periods to France, Italy and Spain, and translated ''Invertebrate Spain'' by

José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; ; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship. His philosoph ...

in 1937. At the beginning of World War II she became a writer for the anti-Nazi newspaper ''Nu''. In 1944, she married Gustaf Ragnvald Lundström, and they divorced in 1946. After the war, Alexanderson worked as a senior publisher for the publishing house Bonniers from 1946 to 1955. In the 1940s, she translated and published a variety of works by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...

and

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

; other writers whose works she translated include

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Bri ...

Alain Robbe-Grillet Alain Robbe-Grillet (; 18 August 1922 – 18 February 2008) was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the ''Nouveau Roman'' () trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simo ...

and

Dario Fo Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...

. Her debut novel, ''Resa till smältpunkten'', was published in 1954 and was set in a poverty-stricken developing country. In 1967, she published ''Pilgrimsfärd'', a religious travelogue. She won the 1969 for translation. Alongside Annakarin Svedberg, Alexanderson was one of the most famous writers of lesbian fiction in Sweden in the 1960s. Her 1964 novel ''Fyrtio dagar y öknen'' (''Forty Days in the Desert'') features lesbianism as a minor theme; it is mentioned that the main character, a woman who travels to Norway to recover from a disease and converts to Catholicism, has had previous erotic relationships with women. However, lesbianism became the central theme in Alexanderson's novel ''Kontradans'' (1969, ''Contra Dance''), which depicts two women who fall in love at a commune. The story may have been autobiographical as the main character, like Alexanderson, is a writer named Eva who writes a novel about lesbians. ''Kontradans'' caused controversy upon its release and Alexanderson did not publish another novel for more than two decades. Alexanderson's 1983 translation of

's ''

'' was well received by critics and readers and won the in 1985. In the same year, she won the

Samfundet De Nio Samfundet De Nio (''The Nine Society'' or ''Society of the Nine'') is a Swedish literary society founded on 14 February 1913 in Stockholm by a testamentary donation from writer Lotten von Kraemer. The society has nine members who are elected for ...

's translation prize. Alexanderson's final novel, ''Sparkplats för jungfrun – ett socialmänskligt collage'', was published in 1992 before her death in 1994.

Biography

References

Further reading