Anna Wahlenberg

Anna Wahlenberg was born on 23 May 1858 in Stockholm.[1] For nine years, she lived on the old farm in Kungsholmen where her father had a candle factory.[2] Wahlenberg attended Pauli girls’ school and the Wallin school.[1]

In 1882, she debuted with her first collection of short stories Teckningar i sanden (Drawings in the Sand) under the pseudonym Rien (from Swedish “nothing”).[3] In 1886, Wahlenberg wrote her second book and a first novel Små själar (Small Souls).[4] The novel deals with failings in women's education and promotes financial independence for women.[1] She wrote two more collections of short stories Hos grannas (1887) and I hvardagslag (1889) dedicated to young woman's fight for financial independence.[3]

In 1888, Wahlenberg married an editor of the newspaper Dagens Nyheter Fritz Kjerrman with whom she had two sons.[3][5]

In 1890, she deputed as a playwright with a comedy called På vakt followed by a prolific output of plays for amateurs and children as well as for professional actors that were frequently staged at the Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern (the Royal Dramatic Theatre) in Stockholm.[1]

In 1895, Wahlenberg wrote her first art fairy tale collection Bengt's tales about kings, elves, trolls and princesses.[2] She wrote over 200 fairy tales, dedicating some of them to her sons.[1] In her fairy tales, Wahlenberg combined traditional fairy tale enchantment and magic with everyday problems and events.[2] In 1899, she became the first one to translate A Thousand and One Night into Swedish.[4]

Wahlenberg lived all her life in Stockholm and moved in with her sister after her husband's death in 1896.[1]

Anna Wahlenberg died on 29 November 1933 and is buried at Norra cemetery in Solna.[1]

• En mesallians
• Kungens nattmössa
• Länge, länge, sedan . . . Sagor
• Löndörren
• Pappas kria
• På Vakt
• Sagoteatern
• Stackars flicka
• Två valspråk[6]

• Anna Wahlenberg at Find a Grave