Inside the Gate
Sigrid Undset’s Life at Bjerkebæk
Inside the Gate offers readers a rare glimpse into Sigrid Undset’s life at her home, Bjerkebæk, now a museum and national landmark in Lillehammer, Norway. Drawing on a wealth of historical documents, Nan Bentzen Skille’s lively narrative presents an intimate portrait of the Nobel Prize winner’s intense emotional life and creative endeavors, with Bjerkebæk at the center of it all.
A refreshing new look at the personal side of Sigrid Undset.
Bergens Tidende
Inside the Gate offers readers a rare glimpse into Sigrid Undset’s life at her home, Bjerkebæk, now a museum and national landmark in Lillehammer, Norway. Immensely protective of her privacy, Undset filled the timbered house with books and created a writing space where she authored many of her famous works, including Kristin Lavransdatter. There she also raised her three children, tended to her beloved garden, and welcomed close friends and family members during three decades of personal joys, sorrows, and hard work.
Drawing on a wealth of historical documents, Nan Bentzen Skille’s lively narrative presents an intimate portrait of Sigrid Undset’s intense emotional life and creative endeavors, with Bjerkebæk at the center of it all. Many photographs vividly illustrate the text. For readers who have long admired Undset’s literature, Inside the Gate provides new insight into the life and work of the Nobel Prize winner.
A refreshing new look at the personal side of Sigrid Undset.
Bergens Tidende
Easy to read, richly illustrated, and at the same time written with great professional expertise.
Aftenposten
A lavish edition in every sense of the word, brimming with materials that have never been seen before.
VG
One of the joys of Inside the Gate is the many photographs and drawings of Undset, her children, the property at Bjerkebæk, and various memorabilia. The author reconstructs several key events in Undset’s life, such as a child’s confirmation party, detailing who likely attended, what they ate, and what Undset was writing about at the time.
Scandinavian Hour
Contents
Foreword
Lillehammer Station – Disembark on the right
Sigrid Undset makes herself a home
With an office in “Norway’s most beautiful home”
The “guesthouse” that became the “priest’s house”
The garden – “the third loveliest” in the world
The children at Bjerkebæk
Mathea Mortenstuen
Miniature theaters and other sorts of drama
The Nobel Prize comes to Lillehammer
The difficult thirties
“Fight for all that you hold dear”
The curtain falls
Epilogue
Notes
Chronology
Photo credits
