[i]

The Story of Gösta Berling

[ii]

[iii]

The
Story of Gösta Berling

Translated from the Swedish of
Selma Lagerlöf
by
Pauline Bancroft Flach

Boston
Little, Brown, and Company
1898

[iv]

Copyright, 1898,
By Little, Brown, and Company.

All rights reserved.

University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A.

[v]

TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE

“The Story of Gösta Berling” was published inSweden in 1894 and immediately brought its authorinto prominence.

The tales are founded on actual occurrences anddepict the life in the province of Värmland at thebeginning of this century. Värmland is a lonely tractin the southern part of Sweden, and has retainedmany of its old customs, while mining is the principalindustry of its sparse population. It consists ofgreat stretches of forest, sloping down to long, narrowlakes, connected by rivers.

Miss Lagerlöf has grown up in the midst of thewild legends of her country, and, deeply imbued withtheir spirit, interprets them with a living force allher own.

Her efforts have been materially encouraged bythe Crown Prince of Sweden, and there is everyreason to expect that her genius has not reached itsfullest development.

Stockholm, May, 1898.

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[vii]

CONTENTS