The Girl from the Marsh Croft

The Girl from the Marsh Croft (Swedish: Tsen frn Stormyrtorpet) is a 1908 novella by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlf. The story has been adapted numerous times for film.

Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlf (20 November 1858 - 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, Gsta Berling's Saga, at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was awarded in 1909. Additionally, she was the first woman to be granted a membership in the Swedish Academy in 1914.

A visit in 1900 to the American Colony in Jerusalem became the inspiration for Lagerlf's book by that name. The royal family and the Swedish Academy gave her substantial financial support to continue her passion. Jerusalem was also acclaimed by critics, who began comparing her to Homer and Shakespeare, so that she became a popular figure both in Sweden and abroad. By 1895, she gave up her teaching to devote herself to her writing. With the help of proceeds from Gsta Berling's Saga and a scholarship and grant, she made two journeys, which were largely instrumental in providing material for her next novel. With her close friend Sophie Elkan, she traveled to Italy, and she also traveled to Palestine and other parts of the East. In Italy, a legend of a Christ Child figure that had been replaced with a false version inspired Lagerlf's novel Antikrists mirakler (The Miracles of the Antichrist). Set in Sicily, the novel explores the interplay between Christian and socialist moral systems. However, most of Lagerlf's stories were set in Vrmland. (wikipedia.org)