Editing Vilhelm Moberg

{{Short description|Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater}}
{{for|the Swedish sailor|Wilhelm Moberg (sailor)}}
{{null|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox writer  <!--For more information, see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]].-->
| name = Vilhelm Moberg
| embed = 
| honorific_prefix = 
| honorific_suffix = 
| image = Vilhelm Moberg 1967.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| alt = Moberg sits before a desk with a manual typewriter
| caption = Vilhelm Moberg, 1967
| native_name = 
| native_name_lang = 
| pseudonym = Ville i Momåla
| birth_name = Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg
| birth_date =    {{Birth date|1898|8|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = Moshultamåla, Sweden
| death_date =    {{death date and age|1973|8|8|1898|8|20|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Väddö]], Sweden
| resting_place = [[Norra begravningsplatsen]]
| occupation = Journalist, author, playwright, historian, debater
| language = Swedish
| nationality = Swedish
| ethnicity =
| citizenship = Swedish
| education = 
| alma_mater = 
| period = c. 1917&ndash;1961
| genre =         <!-- or: | genres =      -->
| subject =       <!-- or: | subjects =    -->
| movement = 
| notableworks =  ''[[The Emigrants (Moberg novel)|The Emigrants]]''
| spouse =        <!-- or: | spouses =     -->
| partner =       <!-- or: | partners =    -->
| children = Åsa Moberg
| relatives = 
| awards = 
| signature = 
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| years_active = 
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| portaldisp =    <!-- "on", "yes", "true", etc; or omit -->
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'''Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg''' (20 August 1898 &ndash; 8 August 1973) was a Swedish [[journalist]], author, [[playwright]], [[historian]], and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his four‑volume series [[The Emigrants (novel series)|''The Emigrants'']]. The novels, published between 1949 and 1959, deal with the [[Swedish emigration to the United States]] in the 19th century. They have been adapted for a total of three movies (two in the 1970s and one in 2021), and a musical. 

Among his other works are ''[[Raskens]]'' (1927) and ''[[Ride This Night]]'' (1941), a historical novel of a 17th‑century rebellion in [[Småland]], acknowledged for its subliminal but widely recognised criticism of the [[Nazi Germany|Hitler regime]].

A prominent public intellectual and debater in Sweden, Moberg was recognized for his vocal criticism of the [[Swedish monarchy]] (most notably after the [[Haijby affair]]), describing it as a servile government by [[divine mandate]], and publicly supporting its replacement with a Swiss‑style [[confederal]] [[republic]]. He spoke out aggressively against the policies of [[Nazi Germany]], the [[Greek military junta]], and the [[Soviet Union]], and his works were among those destroyed in [[Nazi book burnings]]. In 1971, he scolded Prime Minister [[Olof Palme]] for refusing to present the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] to its recipient [[Alexander Solzhenitsyn]] – who was refused permission to attend the ceremony in Stockholm – through the Swedish embassy in [[Moscow]].

Moberg's suicide by self‑inflicted drowning drew much attention. He had had a long struggle with [[depression (mood)|depression]] and [[writer's block]].

==Early life==
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg was born in 1898 on a farm outside the town [[Emmaboda]] in the Parish of [[Algutsboda, Sweden|Algutsboda]] in [[Småland]], in southern Sweden. He was the fourth child of six, of whom only three survived into adulthood. His forebears were soldiers and small farmers. He lived the first nine years of his life at the tenement soldier's cottage in Moshultamåla that his father Karl Moberg, a territorial soldier, took over in 1888. 

In 1907 the family moved to a small farm in the village of Moshultamåla. This had been the family home of his mother Ida Moberg; they had lost it due to poverty. Money from her family in America enabled them to buy the property back.  Moberg had only limited schooling from 1906 until 1912.  However, as a child he was an avid reader; he published his first writing at the age of 13.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vilhelmmoberg.com/english.html |title=Vilhelm Moberg – The Greatest Swedish Author |author=A.A |work=vilhelmmoberg.com |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071207064136/http://www.vilhelmmoberg.com/english.html |archivedate=December 7, 2007 }}</ref>

Moberg worked as a farmer and forest laborer, and later at [[glassblowing]] before and between his various studies.  In 1916 he nearly emigrated to the United States, following his uncle and aunt, but ultimately decided to remain in Sweden with his parents. Largely self‑educated, Moberg studied at [[Kronoberg]] County Folk High School in [[Grimslöv]] from 1916 to 1917, and at Katrineholms Praktiska Skola, a private school in [[Katrineholm]], from 1917 to 1918.  Moberg contracted the [[Spanish flu]] in 1918, and was sick for half a year. After his illness, Moberg took a position on the newspaper ''Vadstena Läns Tidning'' in [[Östergötland]], which published many of his stories between 1919 and 1929.

In 1926, Moberg made his breakthrough as a playwright when his comedy ''Kassabrist'' had a successful run in Stockholm. He published his first novel ''Raskens'' the following year. Moberg became a full‑time writer when the financial success of ''Raskens'' enabled him to devote himself entirely to writing.

==Author==
[[File:LA2-vx06-vilhelmmoberg.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Bust near the [[Swedish Emigrant Institute]], [[Växjö]]]]
Many of his works have been translated into English, and he is well‑recognized in the English‑speaking world among those interested in [[Scandinavia]]n culture and history. In his autobiographical novel, ''A Soldier with a Broken Rifle'' (Swedish: ''Soldat med brutet gevär''), he speaks to the importance of giving voice to the downtrodden, illiterate classes of his forebears. This viewpoint also formed his ''History of the Swedish People, I–II'' (Swedish: ''Min svenska historia, berättad för folket'', I–II), published in 1970–71 in both Swedish and English. He had intended the history to have more volumes, but he never finished it.

As a playwright, Moberg wrote 38 works for the stage or for radio (1919–1973). Some were produced as lighter classics of the Swedish stage and television, or were adapted as feature films by directors such as [[Ingmar Bergman]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ingmarbergman.se/page.asp?guid%3D672037B6-F0AA-48D9-A9EC-7D53DEAD8786 |title=Ingmar Bergman Lea och Rakel |access-date=December 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106073039/http://www.ingmarbergman.se/page.asp?guid=672037B6-F0AA-48D9-A9EC-7D53DEAD8786 |archivedate=November 6, 2011 }}</ref> (''Lea och Rakel''/''Leah and Rachel''; [[Malmö City Theatre]] 1955) and [[Alf Sjöberg]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053781/|title=Domaren (1960)|date=14 October 1960|work=IMDb}}</ref> (''Domaren''/''The Judge''; 1960).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595002/|title=Vilhelm Moberg|work=IMDb}}</ref>

==Social themes==
Moberg had become a member of a young [[Social democracy|Social Democrats]] club in 1913. In his works, he often expressed a republican (anti‑royalist) point of view. He was strongly influenced by the facts that surfaced in the [[Kejne affair]] and [[Haijby affair]], in which Moberg took an active part.

From the 1950s, Moberg participated in debates about the [[Swedish monarchy]], bureaucracy, and corruption. In addition, he devoted much time to help individual citizens who had suffered injustice. Much like others of his generation of Swedish authors from a working‑class background, such as [[Ivar Lo‐Johansson]], [[Harry Martinson]] and [[Moa Martinson]], Moberg depicted the life of the dispossessed, their traditions, customs, and everyday struggle. His novels are important documents of social history, and trace the influences of various social and political movements in Sweden.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/vmoberg.htm |title=Vilhelm Moberg |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706154417/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/vmoberg.htm |archivedate=6 July 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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==''The Emigrants'' series==

From 1948 to 1960, Moberg lived in [[Carmel-by-the-Sea, California]]. While there, he wrote his most famous work, [[The Emigrants (novel series)|''The Emigrants'' series of four novels]], written between 1949 and 1959.<ref>{{cite web |date=1978-10-26 |title=Film crew in Carmel to trace work of noted author |url=https://archive.org/details/ccarm_004332/page/n5/mode/2up?q=%22Vilhelm+Moberg%22 |access-date=2022-11-09 |work=The Carmel Pine Cone |page=7}}</ref> The series describes one Swedish family's emigration from [[Småland]] to [[Chisago County, Minnesota]] in the mid‑19th century. This was a destiny shared by almost one million Swedish people, including several of the author's relatives.  These novels have been translated into English: ''[[The Emigrants (Moberg novel)|The Emigrants]]'' (1951), ''[[Unto a Good Land]]'' (1954), ''[[The Settlers (novel)|The Settlers]]'' (1961), and ''[[The Last Letter Home]]'' (1961). His literary portrayal of the [[Swedish‑American]] immigrant experience is considered comparable to [[Ole Edvart Rølvaag]]'s work depicting that of [[Norwegian Americans|Norwegian‑American]] immigrants. 

[[File:Vilhelm Moberg House.jpg|thumb|right|The Vilhelm Moberg House in [[Carmel Point]].]]The Vilhelm Moberg House is located on [[Carmel Point]] at 2423 San Antonio Avenue, near Isabella & Martin Way. Moberg also lived for a time in the guesthouse of Gustaf Lannestock, his friend and translator, at 26085 Scenic Road.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ci.carmel.ca.us/sites/main/files/file-attachments/homes_of_famous_carmelites_0.pdf?1564762654 |title=Homes of Famous Carmelites|website=ci.carmel.ca.us |place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California|date=1992|page=|access-date=2023-04-11}}</ref>

===Films and musical===
Swedish [[film director]] [[Jan Troell]] in 1971–72 adapted the books into two major feature films, ''[[The Emigrants (film)|The Emigrants]]'' (based on the first two novels) and ''[[The New Land (1972 film)|The New Land]]'' (based on the second two), both starring [[Max von Sydow]] and [[Liv Ullmann]] as Karl Oskar and Kristina. These were nominated for several [[Academy Award]]s, and ''The New Land'' won [[Golden Globe Award]]s.

The [[musical theatre|musical]] ''[[Kristina från Duvemåla]]'' (English title ''Kristina'') (1995) by ex‑[[ABBA]] members [[Björn Ulvaeus]] and [[Benny Andersson]] is based on Moberg's ''The Emigrants Series''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=56|title=Jim Colyer|work=jimcolyer.com}}</ref>

A later film adaptation, known simply as ''The Emigrants'' was released in 2021, and in August 2022 on digital platforms.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Emigrants (2021)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_emigrants_2021| publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|language=en-US|access-date=6 September 2023}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/26/the-emigrants-review-gritty-old-worlders-make-rewarding-trek-to-american-frontier|title=The Emigrants review – gritty old-worlders make rewarding trek to American frontier|last=Felperin |first=Leslie|work=The Guardian|date=26 July 2022|access-date=6 September 2023}}</ref>

Several other works by Moberg have been turned into films and TV series in Sweden over the years.
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==Moberg Room==
Moberg donated his papers to the [[Swedish Emigrant Institute]] in [[Växjö, Sweden]], It displays his original manuscripts, excerpts, notes, and photographs in The Moberg Room, in such a way that visitors get a feeling of meeting Vilhelm Moberg in his workshop.  This unique collection of Moberg memorabilia includes Axel Olsson's sculpture entitled ''The Emigrants'', which portrays the main characters featured in ''The Emigrants Series''. The Vilhelm Moberg Society, headquartered in the Swedish Emigrant Institute, promotes publications, research and popular interest in Moberg's works.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utvandrarnashus.se/eng/|title=Swedish Emigrant Institute|work=utvandrarnashus.se|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006130904/http://www.utvandrarnashus.se/eng/|archivedate=2013-10-06}}</ref>

==Later life==
[[File:Grav Vilhelms Mobergs.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Grave at [[Norra begravningsplatsen]] in Stockholm.]]

Moberg struggled with severe depression in the last years of his life. He committed [[suicide]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Hochman|first=Stanley|title=McGraw‐Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama|url=https://archive.org/details/mcgrawhillencycl05hoch|url-access=registration|accessdate=1 June 2009|edition=2|year=1984|publisher= McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0-07-079169-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/mcgrawhillencycl05hoch/page/397 397]}}</ref> by drowning himself in the sea outside his house. He left a note to his wife saying: "The time is twenty past seven; I go to seek in the sea the eternal sleep. Forgive me, I could not endure." Moberg was buried in [[Norra begravningsplatsen]] in [[Stockholm]].

<blockquote>Klockan är tjugo över sju. Jag går att söka i sjön, sömnen utan slut. Förlåt mig, jag orkade inte uthärda.</blockquote>

==Works in English translation==

===The Emigrants novel series===
{{main|The Emigrants (novel series)}}
* ''[[The Emigrants (Moberg novel)|The Emigrants]]'' (1949), {{ISBN|0-87351-319-3}}.
* ''[[Unto a Good Land]]'' (1952), {{ISBN|0-87351-320-7}}.
* ''[[The Settlers (novel)|The Settlers]]'' (1956), {{ISBN|0-87351-321-5}}.
* ''[[The Last Letter Home]]'' (1959), {{ISBN|0-87351-322-3}}.

===Other fiction===
* ''Memory of Youth''
* ''[[Ride This Night]]''
* ''A Time on Earth'', {{ISBN|1-56849-314-2}}.
* ''When I Was a Child'', {{ISBN|0-8488-0302-7}}.

===Nonfiction===
* ''A History of the Swedish People, Vol. 1: From Prehistory to the Renaissance'', {{ISBN|0-8166-4656-2}}.
* ''A History of the Swedish People, Vol. 2: From Renaissance to Revolution'', {{ISBN|0-8166-4657-0}}.  Both volumes translated by [[Paul Britten Austin]].
* ''The Unknown Swedes: A Book About Swedes and America, Past and Present'', {{ISBN|0-8093-1486-X}}.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Holmes, Philip. ''Vilhelm Moberg,  Twayne's world authors series''  (Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers. 1980)
* Holmes, Philip. ''Vilhelm Moberg. En introduktion till hans författarskap'' (Stockholm, Carlsson, 2001)
* Holmes, Philip. ''Vilhelm Moberg: Utvandrarna (Studies in Swedish literature'' (Orton and Holmes. 1976)
* Eidevall,  Gunnar. ''Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish portraits'' (Stockholm, Sweden: Svenska Institutet; 2nd edition. 1996)
* Mårtensson, Sigvard. ''Vilhelm Moberg och teatern'' (Stockholm, Carlssons, 1992)

==Further reading==
*{{cite book 
|last=Platen
|first=Magnus von
|title=Den unge Vilhelm Moberg: en levnadsteckning
|year=1978
|publisher=Bonnier
|location=Stockholm
|language=sv
|isbn=91-0-041739-4
|id={{LIBRIS|7145306}}
}}
*{{cite book 
|last=Liljestrand
|first=Jens
|title=Mannen i skogen: en biografi över Vilhelm Mobert
|year=2018
|publisher=Albert Bonniers Förlag
|location=Stockholm
|language=sv
|isbn=978-91-0-012610-0
}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Vilhelm Moberg}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071207064136/http://www.vilhelmmoberg.com/english.html Vilhelm Moberg]}} – The Greatest Swedish Author
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130905003953/http://duvemala.com/eng/ Kristina from Duvemåla] – The Musical
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090103161907/http://www.emmaboda.se/English/For-tourists/  Vilhelm Moberg's Duvemåla]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091024222441/http://www.utvandrarleden.se/p_tur_e.pdf Vilhelm Moberg's Emigration District]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716092512/http://www.smaland-oland.com/index.asp?meny1=1&meny2=8&sub1=3&sida=226&wide=0 Hiking in Vilhelm Moberg's Emigrant District]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091222081330/http://www.utvandrarleden.se/moberg_e.html  Vilhelm Moberg – Emmaboda county]

{{Vilhelm Moberg}}
{{The Emigrants}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moberg, Vilhelm}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1973 suicides]]
[[Category:People from Emmaboda Municipality]]
[[Category:Writers from Kalmar County]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish historians]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish novelists]]
[[Category:Swedish republicans]]
[[Category:Swedish historical novelists]]
[[Category:Suicides by drowning in Sweden]]
[[Category:Swedish male novelists]]
[[Category:Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish male writers]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]