Margit Sandemo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margit Sandemo
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Sandemo at the Oslo Book Festival, 2010.
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| Born | Margit Underdal 23 April 1924 Lena, Norway |
| Died | 1 September 2018 (aged 94) Scania, Sweden |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality |
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| Genre | Historical fantasy, pulp fiction |
| Spouse |
Asbjørn Sandemo
(m. 1946–1999) |
| Children | 3 |
Margit Sandemo (born Margit Underdal, 23 April 1924 – 1 September 2018) was a very popular Norwegian-Swedish author. She wrote exciting historical fantasy books. Since the 1980s, she was the best-selling author in the Nordic countries. Her most famous work is The Legend of the Ice People, a series with 47 books. She also wrote other popular series like Häxmästaren and Legenden om Ljusets rike.
Contents
Margit Sandemo's Fantastic Books
What Makes Her Stories Special?
Margit Sandemo's books are known for mixing different styles. They often include history, fantasy, and romance. Her stories are full of suspense and amazing supernatural events. The plots are usually very detailed and continue across many books.
Her characters often find old amulets, writings, and symbols. They must figure out what these mean to solve mysteries. They also fight against evil powers. Most of her novels take place in Europe during the Middle Ages and early Modern Times. Many stories are set in Norway and Iceland. Sometimes, characters travel to places like Spain and Austria. You'll find settings like medieval knight castles, magical forests, and charming old manor houses.
Who Inspired Margit's Writing?
Margit Sandemo had many favorite authors and artists. She loved William Shakespeare, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and J.R.R. Tolkien. She also enjoyed mystery writer Agatha Christie. Margit read all of Shakespeare's works when she was only eight years old.
Her favorite stories included Kalevala, a famous Finnish epic poem. She also loved Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne. Later in life, she read less to avoid accidentally copying ideas. She also found inspiration in paintings by Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Gerhard Munthe. Classical music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven also helped her ideas. Old European folk stories were another big source of inspiration. Margit also enjoyed modern stories like Star Wars films. She liked the thriller The Silence of the Lambs and early episodes of The X-Files.
Margit's Life Story
Her Early Life and Family
Margit Sandemo was born on 23 April 1924. She grew up on a farm in Lena, Norway, in a beautiful area called Østre Toten, Valdres, Norway. Her father, Anders Underdal, was a Norwegian poet. Her mother, Elsa Reuterskiöld, was a Swedish noblewoman and a teacher.
Elsa and Anders met in Valdres and married in 1921. They bought a small farm near Fagernes. Margit was the second of their five children. Her older sister was Eva, and her younger brothers were Axel, Anders, and Embrik. There was only a seven-year age difference between the oldest and youngest child. Margit's parents divorced in 1930. Her mother then moved back to Sweden with all five children.
Margit did not have an easy relationship with her father. He was very strict. During World War II, he supported the Nazis, which Margit could never forgive.
Moving Around and School
After her parents divorced, Margit's family moved often. They lived in different parts of Sweden, sometimes staying with relatives. Margit found this moving around a bit difficult. She missed her birthplace in Valdres, Norway, which she always felt was her true home.
Margit went to a nine-year girls' school. She also took classes at night, including art school. She got good grades, especially for her behavior, even though she didn't always take school seriously. Margit was very artistic as a child. She was good at painting, singing, playing music, and writing poems. Her mother was very proud of her talents. However, Margit never dreamed of becoming a novelist back then. She spent her summer holidays at her grandparents' estate in Blekinge.
Marriage and Children
In 1945, Margit met her future husband, Asbjørn Sandemo (1917–1999). They met while working on a farm in Valdres. Asbjørn was a plumber and a veteran of World War II. Margit's mother had settled down in Valsberga in Södermanland, Sweden. Margit and Asbjørn moved there first because they had nowhere else to go.
They got married on 29 March 1946. They had three children who lived: Henrik (born 1945), Tove (born 1949), and Bjørn (born 1950). In 1964, the family moved back to Huldrehaugen in Valdres. By 2009, Margit Sandemo had seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Before becoming a writer, Margit tried many artistic jobs. She tried painting, tree-cutting, textile art, and sculpture. She also tried folk singing and acting in a play. She even worked in an office for two months. She was never truly happy with any of these other jobs.
Margit's Writing Career
Margit wrote her first novel, Tre Friare (meaning "Three Suitors"), when she was forty years old. She had no writing experience but already had ideas for thirty more books in her mind. She believed that being a novelist was something you were born to do.
Tre Friare was turned down by many publishers. Finally, a publisher in Oslo decided to print it in a magazine. Margit wanted it to be a book, but she eventually agreed. Many more serial novels followed. Margit often wrote her first drafts at a coffee shop in Fagernes. Later, all her magazine novels were published as a forty-volume series. This series was called Margit Sandemos bästa följetonger (The Best Serial Novels by Margit Sandemo).
Her books are loved across the Nordic countries and beyond. They combine supernatural themes with historical facts. Her books have been translated into many languages. These include Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, and Swedish. In 2007, her famous Isfolket series was published in English for the first time.
While she wrote some stand-alone books, her series are what made her famous. Her most well-known series is Sagan om Isfolket. This huge series has 47 books. It follows a family through many generations, from the 16th century to today. They battle a terrible curse throughout the years.
The Legend of the Ice People Series
In 1980, a publisher suggested that Margit Sandemo write a series of historical novels. At first, she wasn't keen on the idea. She planned to keep writing for magazines. But in 1981, she changed her mind. Margit got the idea for the entire 47-book series, The Legend of the Ice People. The first book, Spellbound, came out in 1982.
English Books and Website
Spellbound, the first book in The Legend of the Ice People series, was published in English in the UK. It came out on 30 June 2008. Margit Sandemo visited London to help promote the book. Five more books from the series were also published in 2008.
The Margit Sandemo Official Website was launched in 2008. It shared news and information about her books being published in the UK. It also had an English forum and messages from Margit herself. While the English books still sell well, the website is no longer updated. Fans have also created their own unofficial websites.
