Alberta and Jacob

by Cora Sandel

Book Overview

Hailed as a masterpiece on its British publication in 1962, this Modern Classic reissue should bring this magnificent novel to a new generation. Imaginative and intelligent, Alberta is a misfit trapped in a stiflingly provincial town in the far north of Norway whose only affinity is for her extrovert brother Jacob. Combining mastery of style and characterization with brilliant descriptive writing, this powerful story of a young woman's rebellion is universally regarded as one of the greatest novels to come from Scandinavia.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821407570
• ISBN13: 9780821407578
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Ohio University Press
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.

Customer Reviews

northern light

This is the quiet, intense story of an adolescent girl who struggles to gain autonomy in an oppressive family and narrow-minded town north of the arctic circle in Norway. The story (originally published in 1926) is set in the narrow confines of the bourgeoisie at the end of the nineteenth century, and the desperation of the main character, Alberte, is palpable. Cora Sandel (pseudonym for Sara Fabricius, 1880-1974) is considered to be one of the greatest Scandinavian novelists of the twentieth century, but is virtually unknown abroad. Despite the seriousness of the novel, it manages to delight most readers because of the brilliance of Sandel's prose. A must read for folks who love twentieth century women writers.