True and Untrue and Other Norse Tales - Illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman by Sigrid Undset

True and Untrue and Other Norse Tales - Illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman by Sigrid Undset

This collection, True and Untrue and Other Norse Tales, edited by Sigrid Undset and illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman, contains twenty-eight classic Norse narratives. They include the folkloric stories of 'East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon', 'The Seven Foals', 'Why the Sea is Salt', 'The Squire's Bride', and 'The Master Thief'.

The tales are accompanied by the masterful artwork of Frederick T. Chapman; a book and Magazine illustrator, who contributed to numerous publications including Woman's Home Companion, Collier's, and American Magazines. He is best known for his pioneering work in children's books such as 'Joan, Maid of France, 'White Falcon', and 'Luther Burbank, Nature's Helper.'

Presented alongside the text, Chapman's enchanting creations serve to further refine and enhance the classic Nordic storytelling - making this a book to be enjoyed and appreciated, by both young and old alike. Pook Press celebrates the great 'Golden Age of Illustration' in children's literature - a period of unparalleled excellence in book illustration from the 1880s to the 1930s. Our collection showcases classic fairy tales, children's stories, and the work of some of the most celebrated artists, illustrators and authors.

Sigrid Undset (1882-1949), the eldest daughter of a Norwegian father and a Danish mother, was born in Denmark. Her family relocated to Oslo two years after her birth, where her father, a renowned archaeologist, lectured at the university. Undset was greatly influenced by her father's interest in the past. She was particularly enthralled by the dramatic Old Norse sagas she read as a kid, later remarking that her first encounter with them was the most significant turning point in my life. Mrs. Undset was Undset's first published piece.

Marta Oulie (1907) and The Good Era (1908), a collection of short stories set in modern circumstances, were critical and popular successes. Undset had the opportunity to explore the culture that had initially piqued her interest as a writer, and in Gunnar's Daughter (1909), she drew on her knowledge of Norwegian history and mythology, especially the Icelandic Sagas, to reconstruct medieval life with captivating immediacy. Undset married the painter Anders Castus Svarstad in 1912 and faced the difficult task of parenting three stepchildren and her own three children with no financial or emotional support from her husband over the next ten years. Her marriage was ended in 1924 after Undset converted to Catholicism, and she and her children eventually moved from Oslo to Lillehammer.

Undset's passion with the Middle Ages never waned, and she released The Wreath, the first volume of her most renowned work, Kristin Lavransdatter, in 1920, despite writing more modern novels, a collection of feminism essays, as well as numerous book reviews and newspaper articles. The Wife was published in 1921, while The Cross was published in 1922. Undset's first great medieval epic, the four-volume The Master of Hestviken (1925-1927), garnered her international renown, and her second great medieval epic, The Master of Hestviken (1925-1927), cemented her reputation as one of the twentieth century's best writers. She was only the third woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, at the age of 46, in 1928.

During the 1930s, Undset published numerous books, notably the autobiographical The Longest Years, as well as various collections of essays. Undset, an outspoken Nazi critic, fled Norway in 1940 as the Germans moved through the country, eventually settling in Brooklyn, New York. She returned to Norway in 1945 and received Norway's highest medal two years later for her exceptional literary achievement and dedication to the country. But, her years of exile had taken their toll, and she died of a stroke on June 10, 1949.