The Emperor of Portugallia

For poverty-stricken farm labourer Jan, the birth of his daughter Klara gives life a new meaning; his devotion to her develops into an obsession that excludes all else. We are taken from the miracle of a newborn child and a father's love of his baby girl into a fantasy world emerging as a result of extreme external pressures, in which Jan creates for himself the role of Emperor of Portugallia. Yet this seemingly mad world generates surprising insights and support. Described as 'perhaps the most private of Selma Lagerl f's books', the novel takes us deep into a father-daughter relationship that carries the seeds of tragedy within it almost from the start.

Selma Lagerl f (1858-1940) quickly established herself as a major author of novels and short stories, and her work has been translated into close to 50 languages. Most of the translations into English were made soon after the publication of the original Swedish texts and have long been out of date. This Norvik Press series, 'Lagerl f in English', provides English-language readers with high-quality new translations of a selection of the Nobel Laureate's most important texts.

About the Author
Lagerlof, Selma: - Selma Lagerlof (1858-1940) was born on a farm in Varmland, trained as a teacher and became, in her life-time, Sweden's most widely translated author ever. Novels such as Gosta Berlings saga (1891; Gosta Berling's Saga) and Jerusalem (1901-02) helped regenerate Swedish literature, and the school reader, Nils Holgersson's Wonderful Journey through Sweden (1906-07), has achieved enduring international fame and popularity. Two very different trilogies, the Lowenskold trilogy (1925-28) and the Marbacka trilogy (1922-32), the latter often taken to be autobiographical, give some idea of the range and power of Lagerlof's writing. Several of her texts inspired innovative films, among them Herr Arnes pengar (Sir Arne's Treasure), directed by Mauritz Stiller (1919) and based on Herr Arnes penningar (1903; Lord Arne's Silver), and Korkarlen (The Phantom Carriage), directed by Victor Sjostrom (1921) and based on Lagerlof's Korkarlen (1912). She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, as the first woman ever, in 1909, and elected to the Swedish Academy, again as the first woman, in 1914. Having been able to buy back the farm of Marbacka, which her family had lost as the result of bankruptcy, Lagerlof spent the last three decades of her life combining her writing with the responsibilities for running a sizeable estate. Her work has been translated into close to 50 languages.Lagerlöf, Selma: - Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was born on a farm in Värmland, trained as a teacher and became, in her life-time, Sweden's most widely translated author ever. Novels such as Gösta Berlings saga (1891; Gösta Berling's Saga) and Jerusalem (1901-02) helped regenerate Swedish literature, and the school reader, Nils Holgersson's Wonderful Journey through Sweden (1906-07), has achieved enduring international fame and popularity. Two very different trilogies, the Löwensköld trilogy (1925-28) and the Mårbacka trilogy (1922-32), the latter often taken to be autobiographical, give some idea of the range and power of Lagerlöf's writing. Several of her texts inspired innovative films, among them Herr Arnes pengar (Sir Arne's Treasure), directed by Mauritz Stiller (1919) and based on Herr Arnes penningar (1903; Lord Arne's Silver), and Körkarlen (The Phantom Carriage), directed by Victor Sjöström (1921) and based on Lagerlöf's Körkarlen (1912). She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, as the first woman ever, in 1909, and elected to the Swedish Academy, again as the first woman, in 1914. Having been able to buy back the farm of Mårbacka, which her family had lost as the result of bankruptcy, Lagerlöf spent the last three decades of her life combining her writing with the responsibilities for running a sizeable estate. Her work has been translated into close to 50 languages.Graves, Peter: - Peter Graves has translated works by Linnaeus, Jacob Wallenberg, August Strindberg, Selma Lagerlöf and Peter Englund, and he has been awarded a number of translation prizes. Before retiring he was Head of the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures at the University of Edinburgh, where he taught Swedish.