True and Untrue and Other Norse Tales
Edited by Sigrid Undset
Illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman
A selection of Norwegian folktales chosen by Sigrid Undset, True and Untrue and Other Norse Tales is based on the classic folklore collected by Peter Christian Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe—and has a story for everyone. These wonderful stories tell of worlds similar to our own, worlds with love and hate, sorrow and joy, humor and pathos.
Delightful. The old Norse magic of trolls . . . is here, a native magic. . . . There is an interesting male counterpart of Cinderella in the Ashlad and other creations American children will be charmed to meet.
Eudora Welty, New York Times
A selection of Norwegian folktales chosen by Sigrid Undset, True and Untrue and Other Norse Tales is based on the classic folklore collected by Peter Christian Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. These wonderful stories tell of worlds similar to our own, worlds with love and hate, sorrow and joy, humor and pathos. Beginning with brothers named True and Untrue, the book takes readers through tales of princes and princesses, giants and trolls, husbands and wives, and a castle that is “East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon.” Strikingly illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman while under fire in Italy during the Second World War and with a remarkable foreword by Undset, True and Untrue and Other Norse Tales has a story for everyone.
$16.95 paper ISBN 978-0-8166-7828-0
$16.95 ISBN 978-0-8166-8480-9
264 pages, 24 b&w photos, 5 1/4 x 7 3/4, May 2013
Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) was a prolific Norwegian writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928, and is one of the most important writers of the twentieth century. From 1940 to 1945, she lived in the United States in exile because of the German occupation of Norway. She is best known for her epic medieval trilogy, Kristin Lavransdatter.
Frederick T. Chapman (1887–1983) was a popular children’s book illustrator who was well known for his illustrations of historical fiction for young readers.
Delightful. The old Norse magic of trolls . . . is here, a native magic. . . . There is an interesting male counterpart of Cinderella in the Ashlad and other creations American children will be charmed to meet.
Eudora Welty, New York Times
Children will love this book. Its foreword should make it a ‘must’ book in any courses that are given on folklore or the literature of story telling.
Saturday Review of Literature
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Pioneer Press: A look at worthwhile Minnesota-connected books
Several University of Minnesota Press books listed -- including 'The Inconvenient Indian' by Thomas King and 'True and Untrue and Other Norse Tales' by Sigrid Undset.
MinnPost: U of M reissues Sigrid Undset’s Norwegian tales
“In Norway, [Sigrid Undset is] a key part of the canon."