Mark and the Devil
They say when God created Sweden, he began with the south, and so it became fertile and good in every way. The Devil, meanwhile, ran farther north, where he created the district of Mark. On the surface it was deceptively beautiful: rounded mountains in a bluish distance, dark forests with caves for the wild animals, deep valleys with shimmering rivers and lakes. But underneath the land was harsh and stony, designed to break the backs of those who tried to farm it. When God saw what the Devil had done, he frowned. “You have created the land,” he said. “Now I shall create the people.” And so he made the people strong and industrious — and almost invincible.
Journal
by Birgitta Hjalmarson
She Sat the Whole Time Cold
Journal by Birgitta HjalmarsonThe castle in Stockholm was cold. Descartes had died here in 1650, supposedly freezing to death. Queen Kristina, whom he had come to tutor, would abdicate and flee to Rome. In 1891, when Victoria arrived from her native Germany, the old...
On Writing.
Journal by Birgitta Hjalmarson This interview was originally published by Lori's Book Loft at author-spotlight-birgitta-hjalmarson.html. Please tell us a little about growing up in Sweden and your studies? I grew up in a town on the West Coast...
When Swedish Farmers Marched.
Journal by Birgitta Hjalmarson In the years before the First World War, as tension mounted on the continent, the Swedish political parties drew their own internal battle lines. The Conservatives championed a stronger defense, opposed by...