El Maravilloso Viaje de Nils Holgersson

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils – which is the work of Sweden's greatest fiction writer – was first published in Stockholm, in December, 1906. Lagerlöf wrote it after a commission from the National Teachers' Association to write a reader for the public schools. She devoted three years to Nature study and to familiarizing herself with animal and bird life; she sought out unpublished folklore and legends of the different provinces, and wove them all into her story. With no small success; the book immediately became the most popular book of the year in Scandinavia.