Letters from Tove

(Hardback, Main)

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Description

"I find myself talking to you about all the great joys, all the agonies, all my thoughts..." - Letter to Eva Konikova, 1946

Out of the thousands of letters Tove Jansson wrote, a cache remains that she addressed to her family, her dearest confidantes, and her lovers, male and female. Into these she spilled her innermost thoughts, defended her ideals and revealed her heart. To read these letters is both an act of startling intimacy and a rare privilege.

Penned with grace and humour, Letters from Tove offers an almost seamless commentary on Tove Jansson's life as it unfolds within Helsinki's bohemian circles and her island home. Spanning fifty years between her art studies and the height of Moomin fame, we share with her the bleakness of war; the hopes for love that were dashed and renewed, and her determined attempts to establish herself as an artist.

Vivid, inspiring and shining with integrity, Letters from Tove shows precisely how an aspiring and courageous young artist can evolve into a very great one.

Reviews

Tove Jansson was a genius, a woman of profound wisdom and great artistry -- Philip Pullman
Her tales of Mominvalley are really only half the story of Jansson's quiet creative genius...her novels, short story collections and memoir writing form an equally shining achievement -- Ali Smith
A unique and authentic voice that speaks to the reader across time and culture, heart to heart -- Boyd Tonkin * The Independent *
Tove Jansson is one of the greatest children's writers there has ever been -- Sir Terry Pratchett
[The letters] cover war, fame and her first infatuation with another woman...all related in a voice that is funny, gracious, intimate * The Observer *
Witty, shrewd and hugely entertaining -- Boyd Tonkin * Spectator *
Letters from Tove offers readers the privilege of spending time inside an intelligent, creative, curious, generous, funny, unsentimental mind. Few books have given me as much pure pleasure this year. -- Anna Carey * Irish Times *
There have been several major biographies of Tove, but reading her letters (to her mother, friends, lovers) over 50 years was a revelation. I thought: "Finally, it's her own authentic voice." -- Sophia Jansson * Radio Times *
In Letters from Tove there are treasures aplenty - cultural history gems as well as biographical revelations, all related in a voice that's funny, gracious, intimate. -- Hephzibah Anderson * Guardian *
It's no surprise to discover from this marvellous collection that Tove Jansson wrote such wonderful, heartfelt, interesting letters. -- Caroline Sanderson * Bookseller *
Reading these letters, you will gradually fall under the illusion that they are addressed to you. This is how inviting, candid, and quietly dazzling Tove Jansson's prose is in her correspondence. ... At the end of the book, you will feel that you have a new, very close friend. -- Hernan Diaz, author of In the Distance

Author Bio

Tove Jansson (1914-2001) was the acclaimed Finnish artist and author who gained world renown as the creator of the Moomin stories. Professor Boel Westin was the author of Tove Jansson: Life, Words, Art (Sort of Books, 2014) and Helen Svensson was Jansson's last editor at Schildts. Both were her trusted friends.

Sarah Death is an award-winning translator from Swedish.