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Sigrid Undset

Born

in Kalundborg, Denmark

May 20, 1882

Died

June 10, 1949

Genre

Fiction

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Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist whose powerful, psychologically rich works made her one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century. Best known for her medieval sagas Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928 for her vivid portrayals of life in the Middle Ages, written with remarkable historical detail and emotional depth.

Born in Denmark to Norwegian parents, Undset spent most of her life in Norway. After her father's early death, she had to forgo formal education and worked as a secretary while writing in her spare time. Her debut novel Fru Marta Oulie (1907) shocked readers with its opening confession of adultery and established her bold, realist style. Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist whose powerful, psychologically rich works made her one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century. Best known for her medieval sagas Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928 for her vivid portrayals of life in the Middle Ages, written with remarkable historical detail and emotional depth.

Born in Denmark to Norwegian parents, Undset spent most of her life in Norway. After her father's early death, she had to forgo formal education and worked as a secretary while writing in her spare time. Her debut novel Fru Marta Oulie (1907) shocked readers with its opening confession of adultery and established her bold, realist style. In early works like ,i>Jenny (1911), she explored modern women's struggles with love, freedom, and morality, often critiquing romantic idealism and social expectations.

Though she gained recognition for her contemporary novels, Undset felt increasingly drawn to historical fiction. This shift led to her masterwork Kristin Lavransdatter, a trilogy published from 1920 to 1922, which follows the life of a woman in 14th-century Norway as she navigates love, faith, motherhood, and spiritual growth. With its intricate character development and deep moral themes, the trilogy brought her international acclaim and remains a cornerstone of Scandinavian literature.

In 1924, Undset converted to Roman Catholicism, a profound personal decision that shaped her later writing. Her tetralogy,i>The Master of Hestviken (1925–1927) centers on a man burdened by unconfessed guilt, offering a deeply spiritual and psychological portrait of sin and redemption. Her Catholic faith and concern with ethical questions became central to her work and public life.

A vocal critic of both communism and fascism, Undset fled Norway after the Nazi invasion in 1940. Her books were banned by the occupying regime, and she lived in exile in the United States during the war, advocating for Norway and the Allied cause. The loss of her son in the war deeply affected her, and although she returned home after the war, she published little in her final years.

Undset’s legacy rests not only on her historical novels but also on her fearless exploration of conscience, duty, and the human condition. Her characters—especially her women—are fully realized, flawed, and emotionally complex. Her writing combines psychological insight with stylistic clarity and spiritual depth, making her work enduringly relevant and widely read.

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Combine Editions
Sigrid Undset’s books

Average rating: 4.2 · 47,552 ratings · 5,938 reviews · 334 distinct works • Similar authors

	Kristin Lavransdatter 4.32 avg rating — 15,298 ratings — published 1920 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wreath (Kristin Lavransdatter, #1) by Sigrid Undset, Tiina Nunnally (Translator) 4.06 avg rating — 10,695 ratings — published 1920 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wife (Kristin Lavransdatter, #2) by Sigrid Undset, Tiina Nunnally (Editor), Sherrill Harbison (Introduction) 4.17 avg rating — 5,538 ratings — published 1920 — 122 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Cross (Kristin Lavransdatter, #3) 4.35 avg rating — 4,433 ratings — published 1922 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gunnar's Daughter by Sigrid Undset, Sherrill Harbison (Editor), Arthur G. Chater (Translator) 4.18 avg rating — 2,004 ratings — published 1909	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Catherine of Siena 4.36 avg rating — 1,393 ratings — published 1951 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jenny by Sigrid Undset, Tiina Nunnally (Translator) 3.88 avg rating — 1,496 ratings — published 1911 — 130 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Olav Audunssøn: I. Vows (Volume 1) by Sigrid Undset, Tiina Nunnally (Translator) 4.28 avg rating — 1,339 ratings — published 1925 — 39 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Snake Pit (The Master of Hestviken, #2) 4.30 avg rating — 800 ratings — published 1925 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Son Avenger (The Master of Hestviken, #4) 4.53 avg rating — 568 ratings — published 1926 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Sigrid Undset…

Series by Sigrid Undset

Kristin Lavransdatter (3 books)
by

Sigrid Undset,

Tiina Nunnally (Translator),

Sherrill Harbison (Introduction)

4.22 avg rating — 36,068 ratings

The Master of Hestviken (4 books)
by

Sigrid Undset

4.32 avg rating — 3,643 ratings

Paul Selmer (2 books)
by

Sigrid Undset

4.02 avg rating — 281 ratings

Elleve år og Tolv år (2 books)
by

Sigrid Undset

3.89 avg rating — 37 ratings

Quotes by Sigrid Undset (?)

“And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans--and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.”
― Sigrid Undset

tags: christmas

357 likes

“No one and nothing can harm us, child, except what we fear and love.”
― Sigrid Undset, The Wreath

80 likes

“Many a man is given what is intended for another, but no man is given another's fate.”
― Sigrid Undset, The Wife

48 likes

See all Sigrid Undset's quotes »

Polls

March 2018 New School

Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 317 pgs, 1933

63 votes, 18.5%

The Castle by Franz Kafka, 316 pgs, 1926

39 votes, 11.4%

My Ántonia by Willa Cather, 232 pgs, 1918

34 votes, 10.0%

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, 320 pgs, 1936

29 votes, 8.5%

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, 439 pgs, 1946

25 votes, 7.3%

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières, 437 pgs, 1994

20 votes, 5.9%

The Wreath by Sigrid Undset, 305 pgs, 1920

20 votes, 5.9%

The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, 544 pgs, 1982

18 votes, 5.3%

Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons, 233 pgs, 1932

18 votes, 5.3%

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious, 384 pgs, 1956

13 votes, 3.8%

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham, 379 pgs, 1945

13 votes, 3.8%

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton, 370 pgs, 1913

11 votes, 3.2%

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, 232 pgs, 1922

9 votes, 2.6%

The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna, 338 pgs, 1954

8 votes, 2.3%

The Professor's House by Willa Cather, 256 pgs, 1925

7 votes, 2.1%

The Fixer by Bernard Malamud, 335 pgs, 1966

4 votes, 1.2%

A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul, 623 pgs, 1961

4 votes, 1.2%

Martin Eden by Jack London, 480 pgs, 1909

3 votes, 0.9%

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, 688 pgs, 1933

3 votes, 0.9%

341 total votes

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Sigrid Undset’s Followers (927)

Sigrid Undset

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Combine Editions
Sigrid Undset’s books