Considered one of Sweden's greatest 20th-century writers, Vilhelm Moberg
created the characters Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson to portray the
joys and tragedies of daily life for early Swedish immigrants in
America. His consistently faithful depiction of these humble people's
lives is a major strength of the Emigrant Novels.
Moberg's extensive research in the papers of Swedish emigrants in
archival collections enabled him to incorporate many details of pioneer
life. First published between 1949 and 1959 in Swedish, these four books
were considered a single work by Moberg, who intended that they be read
as documentary novels. These reprint editions contain introductions
written by Roger McKnight of Gustavus Adolphus College, and they restore
Moberg's bibliography not included in earlier English editions.
The second book in the series, Unto a Good Land opens in the summer of
1850 as the emigrants disembark in New York City. Their journey to a new
home in Minnesota Territory takes them by riverboat, steam wagon, Great
Lakes steamship, and oxcart to Chisago County.
The other books in the series--The Emigrants (I), The Settlers
(III), and The Last Letter Home (IV)--are also available from the
Minnesota Historical Society Press.