The Triumph of the Swedish Nineteenth-Century Novel in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

The reception of Swedish nineteenth-century novels by women writers is a success story. Two Swedish top-selling novelists in Central and Eastern Europe were Emilie Flygare-Carlén (1807–1892) and Marie Sophie Schwartz (1819–1894). In the mid- and late nineteenth century, their novels were widely circulated in German translations but also translated into other local languages within the Austrian Empire, such as Hungarian, Czech, and Polish. In this pioneering volume, six scholars with expertise in Scandinavian literature and the local Central and Eastern European languages and cultures, explore the remarkable reception of Flygare-Carlén and Schwartz in German, Hungarian, Czech and Polish culture. These studies offer a thorough mapping of the transcultural transmission of Flygare-Carlén’s and Schwartz’ works in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as an expanded discussion on their introduction, reception and literary status in the Czech, Hungarian and Polish literary systems.