Kristin Lavransdatter became a touchstone for Undset's contemporaries, and continues to be widely read by Norwegians today. Granted independence in 1905 after five hundred years of foreign domination, Norway was eager to reclaim its national history and culture. In addition, she restores key passages left out of that edition.Undset's ability to present a meticulously accurate historical portrait without sacrificing the poetry and narrative drive of masterful storytelling was particularly significant in her homeland. Nunnally, an award-winning translator, retains the natural dialog and lyrical flow of the original Norwegian, with its echoes of Old Norse legends, while deftly avoiding the stilted language and false archaisms of Archer's translation. Her grasp of the connections between past and present and of human nature itself, combined with the extraordinary quality of her writing, sets her works far above the genre of -historical novels.- This new translation by Tina Nunnally-the first English version since Charles Archer's translation in the 1920s-captures Undset's strengths as a stylist.

Undset's own life-her familiarity with Norse sagas and folklore and with a wide range of medieval literature, her experiences as a daughter, wife, and mother, and her deep religious faith-profoundly influenced her writing.

The trilogy, however, is more than a journey into the past. I enjoyed this novel even more the second time around.Kristin Lavransdatter interweaves political, social, and religious history with the daily aspects of family life to create a colorful, richly detailed tapestry of Norway during the fourteenth-century. Moreover, the characters are complexly human. The novel is rich in detail, and Kristin’s life seems fully realized. When Lavrans learns of this, although he doesn’t know all, he is unwilling to grant permission for their marriage, afraid he will be throwing his daughter’s happiness away for an unworthy husband. He and Kristin decide to marry despite Simon and Eline, the woman who deserted her husband for Erlend and bore him two children. When she is fifteen, her family betrothes her to Simon Darre, a young man who is good natured and kind, but during her engagement year, she meets Erlend Nikulaussön, an older man of poor reputation although of better family than Kristin’s. Kristin grows up her father’s favorite, and as a young girl, she is disposed to try to always do what is right. Kristen is the daughter of a depressed mother, Ragnfrid, and Lavrans, an upright, kindly farmer of good estate. It is the story of the life of a fourteenth century Norwegian girl. The Bridal Wreath is the first book of Sigrid Undset’s renowned trilogy, Kristin Lavransdatter. It had been many years since I read it, and I could remember little about it. When I saw The Bridal Wreath in a list of books published in 1920, I thought the 1920 Club would be a perfect opportunity to reread it and judge whether I wanted to revisit the trilogy.

The bridal wreath sigrid undset