The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

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Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige book cover
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Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige book cover

Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils) is a famous work of fiction by the Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, published in two parts in 1906 and 1907. The background for publication was a commission from the National Teachers Association in 1902 to write a geography reader for the public schools.

"She devoted three years to Nature study and to familiarizing herself with animal and bird life. She has sought out hitherto unpublished folklore and legends of the different provinces. These she has ingeniously woven into her story." (From translator Velma Swanston Howard's introduction.)

Contents

[edit] Plot

The book is about a young lad, Nils Holgersson, whose "chief delight was to eat and sleep, and after that he liked best to make mischief". He takes great delight in hurting the animals in his family farm. A run-in with a tomte (elf/gnome) sees him shrunken and able to talk with animals. Wild geese take him on an adventurous trip across all the historical provinces of Sweden observing in passing their natural characteristics and economic resources. At the same time the characters and situations he encounters make him a man.

[edit] Anime

An anime adaptation (ニルスのふしぎな旅 Nirusu no Fushigi na Tabi) consisting of fifty-two 25-minute episodes was broadcast on NHK from January 8, 1980—March 17, 1981. The anime was also broadcast in Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Israel, and Turkey, but in some countries it was cut to allow for commercials. The anime was produced by Studio Pierrot (Mamoru Oshii). The anime was mostly fairly true to the original, apart from the appearance of the hamster, and the great role allowed to the fox Smirre.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Trivia

  • A motif from the book, with Nils Holgersson on the back of a goose flying over the plains of Scania, is featured on the reverse side of the Swedish 20 krona banknote.
  • In depictions Nils is usually wearing a red cap, although this is erroneous as he is described in the original Swedish edition as wearing a white cap.[1]

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Chapter IX. Karlskrona
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