Selma Ottolia Lovisa Lagerlöf

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1909

Author. Lofty idealism, vivid imagination. Described peasant life, Nordic nature accompanied by ethical strength, deep religious feeling. Respect for Nature, Women's Causes. 1914, became member of the Swedish Academy which awards Nobel Prize for Literature.

"Nothing on earth can make up for the loss of one who has loved you."

Selma Lagerlöf Family

Sitting in train to Stockholm to accept the Nobel Prize in Literature, thinking: 'Deep within me was a wondrous joy at receiving this Prize. I was thinking of those who would rejoice at my good fortune. There were my good friends, my brothers and sisters and, first and foremost, my old mother who, sitting back home, was happy to have lived to see this day.

But then I thought of my father and felt a deep sorrow that he should no longer be alive, and that I could not go to him and tell him that I had been awarded the Nobel Prize. I knew that no one would have been happier than he to hear this. Never have I met anyone with his love and respect for the written word and its creators, and I wished that he could have known that the Swedish Academy had bestowed on me this great Prize. Yes, it was a deep sorrow to me that I could not tell him.' - Nobel Banquet Speech at Grand Hôtel, Stockholm, December 10, 1909