which was something new. The very same year Ole Lund Kierkegaard (1940–1979),
writer of popular humorous stories in a somewhat hyperbolic style, also made his debut.
Problem-oriented realism and social criticism dominated books for young adults in the
1970s, while a shift towards a more fantastic and historical perspective came in the
1980s. Among the foremost in the historical genre is Gerd Rindel (b.1941), notably with
her chronicle of the life of a Jewish family around the year 1900. The Second World War
has been a recurrent theme in historical novels. One notable depiction of the struggle of
the resistance during the German occupation is Lulu (1988), written by a 15-year-old
girl, Cæcilie Lassen.
Modern Danish books for young adults are to some extent more outspoken than in the
other Nordic countries. Earlier taboos (sexuality, criminality, violence) are deliberately
broken and traditional moral values are questioned. The most controversial writer is
Bernt Haller (b.1946), author of both adventure stories and novels of social criticism.
His first book Katamaranen (1976), focusing the relationship between two boys, aroused
the ire of both critics and librarians (it was banned from the libraries) with its
comparatively unmitigated violence and sexuality. Criticism of modern civilisation and
society has become intense in recent years, and in the 1980s and 1990s several
terrifying visions of the future have appeared. However, probably the most remarkable
novel of the 1980s is Shamran (1985) by Bjarne Reuter (b.1950). Written in a
mythological mode, this novel displays a boy’s mortal struggle in a battle between good
and evil in a world filled with oppression. Reuter has written a number of books both for
children and young adults in different genres. In the context of modern Danish
children’s literature he is one of the most widely read authors.
FinlandA primer written in Finnish, ABC-kiria, was published in 1543, but up until the mid-
nineteeth century only a 100 or so books for children (in Finnish and Swedish) appeared.
Of fundamental importance to the vivid fairy tale tradition in Finnish children’s
literature is Suomen kansan Satuja ja Tarinoita [The Folk and Fairy Tales of the Finnish
People] (1852–1866), a collection of Finnish folk-tales and stories by the folklorist Eero
Salmelainen. The national epic Kalevala (1835), by Elias Lönnroth, later appeared in an
abridged version for children. The emerging interest in creating a truly national culture
for Finnish children was revealed in two picture books, Kuvia Suomen lasten elämästä
[The Finnish Picture Book] in 1882 and Suomalainen kuvakirja lapsille ja nuorisolle [The
Finnish Picture Book for Children] in 1894.
Through the work of the Finno-Swedish author Zachris Topelius (1818–1898)
children’s literature became established as an independent genre with artistic quality.
First influenced by H.C.Andersen, Topelius soon developed a child-oriented style of
writing of his own, and his first collection of stories was published in 1847. Topelius aimed
directly at children and displayed a strong feeling for the Finnish nature. His numerous
fairy tales, poems and plays are collected in Läsning för barn [Reading for Children] (8
vols, 1865–1896). He also wrote historical novels. Topelius has been translated into
some twenty languages and for decades he remained the number one Finnish children’s
writer.
694 THE WORLD OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE