Beskow was a renowned Swedish author and illustrator. She was born Elsa Martmaan in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1874. Elsa was the second of six children with one older brother and four younger sisters.
Influences early in life
According to accounts of her early childhood, Beskow was influenced by fairy tales and began telling stories before she had the words sufficient to express herself. Her older brother, Hans, would make suggestions and embellish her infant tales.
Beskow’s father died when she was 15, leaving the family bereft. Her mother and siblings moved in with her mother’s unmarried sisters and brother who had already established a household together. In this lively environment, there was a heavy emphasis on learning, art, and literature.
Much is made in biographies of Beskow about the supposed “liberal” and “progressive” quality of Beskow’s coming of age with her extended family. She certainly appears to have held progressive views for her time (for example, she supported women’s suffrage), but it’s worth noting that sources give no indication of radicalism. A survey of Beskow’s major works reveal even squirrels in her stories conform to heteronormative, traditional family structure. The progressives of yesteryear were still rather mired in orthodox Christianity.
Education and marriage
Beskow’s English-language publisher, Floris Books, reports that she received her education at Konstfack, University College of Arts, Crafts and Design (then called Tekniska skolan) beginning in 1892. While there, Beskow modeled for the paintings of fellow student Nathaniel Beskow, whom she wed in 1897. After studying art, Beskow’s husband followed his father’s example and resumed theological studies.
Nathaniel Beskow became the headmaster of a new school and continued as a preacher, activist, and hymn writer. Allegedly because her husband’s professional endeavors did not pay well, Elsa Beskow had a strong incentive to continue publishing the books for children she had begun creating. Between 1899 and 1914, the Beskows had six sons. In order to keep the growing family afloat, Beskow produced a book a year, writing and illustrating an astonishing array of books for children. She memorably described her early years of marriage: “every year another book and every other year a boy.”
Her first book, The Little, Little Old Woman was published the year of her marriage. She gained popularity with the release of Peter In Blueberry Land, which was translated into German and began her international acclaim. After her death in 1953 at the age of 79, the Elsa Beskow Award was created to acknowledge the best Swedish illustrator.
Beauty in the real world
While Beskow drew heavily on her environment for inspiration, her life was not the fanciful idyl of her storybooks. Between the near penury of the family’s position and the deprivations of world wars, she faced the same hardships as many other mothers. Additionally, Beskow suffered a tragedy when her youngest son, Dag, was killed shortly before his eighth birthday in an ice skating accident. According to sources, Beskow relied on her husband and living sons to overcome the grief of the sudden loss.
Beskow is sometimes called “the Swedish Beatrix Potter,” but to compare the two is to ignore what is uniquely their own. Beskow’s legacy, beloved the world over, offers timeless appreciation for the experience of children, both real and imagined. What is as remarkable as the works themselves is how she accomplished them amidst the demands of daily life and the raising of six boys.
One of her sons, Bo Beskow, later reflected:
How did she find the time to work with her picture books! She had to produce one a year in order to support the family…We understood that father’s work was important; he was not to be disturbed, but mother only drew and painted – it was fun and we could disturb her as much as we wished. Mother was always available; she didn’t have her own work room, she wrote and drew at a large white table in the parlor. Everything and everyone in the house that moved passed by there, someone always needed her help with something.
Further reading on Elsa Beskow’s life is, unfortunately, generally limited to Swedish, but her works continue to be published and enjoyed in many languages.
Beskow’s works translated into English range from simple, sweet stories to fantastical fairy tale adventures. The sweet stories include gems like Pelle’s New Suit, which tells the story of a boy trading work for help in making his lamb’s wool into a sharp, blue suit. There’s also the stories of Peter and Lotta and the famous spinsters Aunt Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavender. On the fantastical end are the woodland worlds of Children of the Forest and Wood, Hazel and Little Pip.
In a realm that calls to mind Scandinavian architypes at play, one finds books like Princess Sylvie and Rosalind and the Deer. These lesser known works are not of the caliber of Beskow’s more popular titles, but they are beloved by many a little girl.
Beskow also weaves together the fairytale world of goblins and forest creatures with real life in stories like The Land of Long Ago and Peter in Blueberry Land. Then there is the downright bizarre book, The Curious Fish.
Whatever genre, Beskow’s eye for detail and delicate illustrations present a feast for the eyes and tickles the imagination.
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