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Part of
Transnational Books for Children 1750-1900: Producers, consumers, encounters
Edited by Charlotte Appel, Nina Christensen and M.O. Grenby
[Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition 15] 2023
► pp. 157–175

Chapter 7
The journey of “Lille Alvilde”

The fluid life of a children’s classic

Maurits Hansen’s short story “Lille Alvilde” (Little Alvilde, 1829), about a small girl’s idyllic encounter with a bear, is considered a Norwegian classic. Since it was first published, it has been reprinted numerous times in several Norwegian publications. Its extensive publishing history made it available to a large readership and ensured its canonization. Moreover, Hansen’s story was distributed abroad, and translated versions were printed in England and the United States. In this chapter, we present the journey of “Lille Alvilde”, from Norway to England and the United States, and back again. By tracing the transnational publishing and translation history of the original text into the different English versions, we unpack the distribution, translation, and transformation of Hansen’s canonized story.
Article outline
  • “Lille Alvilde” in England
  • “Lille Alvilde” in the United States
  • Adapting Alvilde
  • Circulation and fluidity in the life of the literary work
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 8 August 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/clcc.15.07bjo
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