Torfhildur Hólm, Brynjólfur Sveinsson biskup

Katelin Parsons (Árna Magnússon Foundation for Icelandic Studies)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1882

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Brynjólfur Sveinsson biskup

(1882) is both the first historical novel written in Icelandic and the first novel by an Icelandic woman. Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir Hólm (1845–1918) was a recent immigrant to Canada when she published the novel, which describes the career of the titular Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson of Skálholt (1605–1675). Torfhildur populated her book mainly with historical figures, including the poet Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–1674), whose works were still near-universally read at the time of the novel’s publication.

Living in Canada, Torfhildur had few historical sources from which to work, as she herself observed in an apologetic author’s note at the book’s end. In this respect, Torfhildur’s work contrasts with Guðmundur Kamban’s four-volume novel

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1216 words

Citation: Parsons, Katelin. "Brynjólfur Sveinsson biskup". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 October 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41018, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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