The 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Danish-born Norwegian novelist Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) "principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1928 nobelprize.org She is the third female recipient of the literature prize.

Laureate

Sigrid Undset's writing career started by focusing on strong, contemporary women struggling for emancipation. Inspired by her archeologist father, she later turned to writing about the Middle Ages as seen in Fortællingen om Viga-Ljot og Vigdis ("Gunnar's Daughter", 1909) and tetralogy Olav Audunssøn i Hestviken og Olav Audunssøn og Hans Børn ("The Master of Hestviken", 1925–27). Her best known work is Kristin Lavransdatter (1920–1922), which deals with themes of honor, religious faith, and the common life shared by women and men in 15th-century Norway. According to the Swedish Academy, Undset brings to life the medieval times with solid historical knowledge, deep psychological insight, a vivid imagination, and a vigorous language. Being a convert to Catholicism, she expressed her religiosity by writing a biographical novel on St. Catherine of Siena and a hagiographical collection Sagaen om de Hellige ("Saga of Saints", 1934).Sigrid Undset – Facts nobelprize.org

Deliberations Nominations Sigrid Undset was only nominated in four occasions (1922, 1925, 1926, and 1928). Her last nomination which led to her being awarded the Nobel prize came from the proposal of the Norwegian psychologist Helga Eng (1875–1966).Nomination archive – Sigrid Undset nobelprize.org

In total, the Swedish Academy received 48 nominations for 36 writers. Thirteen of the nominees were newly nominated such as Hans Driesch, Ricarda Huch, Felix Timmermans, Theodor Däubler, Armando Palacio Valdés, Rufino Blanco Fombona, Blanca de los Ríos, Anna de Noailles, and Edith Howes. The highest number of nominations (with three nomination letters each) were for the German writer Paul Ernst and the French philosopher Henri Bergson (awarded for 1927). There were six female nominees: Blanca de los Ríos, Edith Howes, Ricarda Huch, Edith Wharton, Concha Espina de la Serna, and Anna de Noailles.

The authors Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, François de Curel, Robert de Flers, Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne, Edmund Gosse, Avery Hopwood, Oskar Jerschke, Henry Festing Jones, Juan Bautista Justo, Ladislav Klíma, Charlotte Mew, Barry Pain, Frank Ramsey, George Ranetti, José Eustasio Rivera, Max Scheler, Aron Hector Schmitz (known as Italo Svevo), Antonín Sova, Sir George Trevelyan, Paul van Ostaijen, Stanley John Weyman, and Elinor Wylie died without having been nominated for the prize.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Rudolf Hans Bartsch (1873–1952)novel, short story, essays, dramaOswald Redlich (1858–1944)2Henri Bergson (1859–1941) philosophy3Rufino Blanco Fombona (1874–1844)essays, literary criticismRoyal Spanish Academy4Georg Bonne (1859–1945) essaysprofessors5Paul Bourget (1852–1935) novel, short story, literary criticism, essaysRené Bazin (1853–1932)6Otokar Březina (1868–1929)poetry, essays7Olaf Bull (1883–1933) poetryJens Thiis (1870–1942)8Blanca de los Ríos (1859–1956)poetry, novel, short story, essays9Anna de Noailles (1876–1933)novel, poetry, essaysTor Hedberg (1862–1931)10Theodor Däubler (1876–1934)poetry, essaysOskar Walzel (1864–1944)11Olav Duun (1876–1939) novel, short storyHalvdan Koht (1873–1965)12Hans Driesch (1867–1941)philosophyKurt Breysig (1866–1940)13Paul Ernst (1866–1933) novel, short story, drama, essays14Concha Espina de la Serna (1869–1955)novel, short story15Édouard Estaunié (1862–1942)novel, literary criticismErik Staaff (1867–1936)16James George Frazer (1854–1941) history, essays, translationMartin Persson Nilsson (1874–1967)17Maxim Gorky (1868–1936) novel, short story, drama, memoir, autobiography, essays, poetry18Ivan Grozev (1872–1957)drama, poetry, literary criticismMikhail Arnaudov (1878–1978)19Vilhelm Grønbech (1873–1948)history, essays, poetryJohannes Pedersen (1883–1977)20Arno Holz (1863–1929)poetry, drama21Rudolf Maria Holzapfel (1874–1930)philosophy, essays22Edith Howes (1872–1954)novel, short story, drama, essays, pedagogyFrancis Prendeville Wilson (1874–1950)23Ricarda Huch (1864–1947)history, essays, novel, poetry24Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (1873–1950) novel, short story, poetryFrederik Poulsen (1876–1950)25Willem Kloos (1859–1938) poetry, essays, literary criticismAlbert Verwey (1865–1937)26Karl Kraus (1874–1936)essays, drama, poetryCharles Andler (1866–1933)27Alf Larsen (1885–1967)poetry, essaysAlexander Seippel (1851–1938)28Thomas Mann (1875–1955)novel, short story, drama, essaysAnders Österling (1884–1981)29Armando Palacio Valdés (1853–1938)novel, short story, essaysRoyal Spanish Academy30Kostis Palamas (1859–1943) poetry, essays Verner von Heidenstam (1859–1940)31J.-H. Rosny aîné (1856–1940)novel, short story32Felix Timmermans (1886–1947)drama, novel, short story, poetryArthur Boon (1883–1938)33Sigrid Undset (1882–1949)novel, memoir, essaysHelga Eng (1875–1966)34Frederik van Eeden (1860–1932)novel, essaysGerard Brom (1882–1959)35Edith Wharton (1862–1937)novel, short story, poetry, essaysWilliam Lyon Phelps (1865–1943)36Juan Zorrilla de San Martín (1855–1931)poetrymembers of the Academy of Lima and the Academy of Panama

Prize decision The main contenders for the 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature were Thomas Mann, the Russian author Maxim Gorky and Sigrid Undset. The members of the Nobel committee were divided between the candidates. Committee chairman Per Hallström pushed for a prize to Thomas Mann, but failed to gain support for the proposal. Committee member Anders Österling supported Gorky's candidacy, while other committee members dismissed Gorky for his "raw" and "brutal" writing. Member Henrik Schück was negative towards all three candidates for estetical reasons. Ultimately Undset was the chosen winner, mainly because of the Nobel committee's appreciation of her novel trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter. Thomas Mann was subsequently awarded the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Award ceremony

At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1928, Per Hallström of the Swedish Academy said:

Notes

References

External links Presentation Speech by Per Hallström nobelprize.org