The celebrated Swedish author, Vilhelm Moberg, was known on both sides of the Atlantic for his epic, four-part novel (The Emigrants, Unto a Good Land, The Settlers, and The Last Letter Home) chronicling the lives of Karl Oscar and Kristina Nilsson, who emigrated from Småland, Sweden in the nineteenth century and settled in Chisago County, Minnesota. Written between 1949 and 1959, these books became bestsellers. Swedish film director Jan Troell produced two acclaimed movies in the 1970s (The Emigrants and The New Land), starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann, based Moberg’s books. Today his four books are still in print courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.
So how and why did this man, whom some considered Sweden’s greatest author, fly to Chicago in January 1966 to address the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society (now Swedish-American Historical Society)?
The Society’s board of directors asked Nils William Olsson to make the initial contact with Moberg. Olsson, a founder of the Society then stationed in the American Embassy in Oslo, called Moberg in October, and followed up with a more formal letter. Moberg was hesitant initially; Chicago was a long flight from Sweden and, even with an honorarium, he was uncertain. He also hesitated about needing to speak in English as opposed to his native Swedish. But he finally agreed, noting that he did have 17 cousins who lived in Chicago and he hoped to visit some of them.
There was some hesitation on the part of the Society as well. Moberg had earlier written at length about the misunderstanding and opposition he had encountered on both sides of the Atlantic during his research and publication of his books. Some in the Society wondered whether Midwestern Swedish-American piety could stand a Moberg address. But the leaders of the Society believed that Vilhelm Moberg was a towering literary figure who understood Swedish emigration and would provide a huge draw. Franklin Scott, the president of the Society, wrote to Moberg that the Society “will be eager to hear you, and I assure you a most cordial welcome.”
So Vilhelm Moberg, the great novelist of the Swedish emigration to America, flew to Chicago on a cold January day in 1966, and spoke to some 265 members and friends of the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society on the topic, “Why I Wrote the Novel About Swedish Emigrants.” His speech was a rousing success.
So why did Moberg write the epic four-part novel?
“I will try to tell you the reason why I wrote the novel about the Swedish emigrants to the United States,” he began, “about the pioneers who came to the Midwest a hundred years ago. The reason is very simple: I wanted to write about my relatives in America. The United States I will call the land of relations.”
“All my father’s brothers and sisters had emigrated to North America,” Moberg continued. “All my mother’s brothers and sisters had emigrated to North America. The only ones left of the two families were my father and my mother.”
Moberg continued to tell his audience at the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society more about his work to write the epic emigrant novel. The audience was captivated, and some members were moved to tears. Moberg’s trip and speech were a great success. And it is believed that he did get to visit some of his 17 cousins in Chicago as well.
To read Moberg’s entire 1966 address, see Vilhelm Moberg, Why I Wrote the Novel About Swedish Emigrants (digitized version available through the society’s digital collections). The publication is also available for sale from the Swedish-American Historical Society.