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Early Scandinavia, 18th Century Europe, and a Miniature Museum

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A Miniature French Chateau – Walled Garden

Before we look inside the chateau, we should visit this beautiful walled garden that sits off the front courtyard. The three-walled garden has plantings on all sides and was made by Beverly Dahl in 1985. I assume my mother purchased this garden from a miniature show,...

A Miniature French Chateau – Overview

My mother’s miniature replica of the Carl Larsson house was popular, so I am sharing her miniature French Chateau set in 1810.  She bought simple shells for her dollhouses, many from a shop called Ah Miniatures! in Minneapolis, and spent her time and money on the...

Tales from Sapmi – Giants

Two stories in Just Qvigstad’s Contes de Laponie illustrate that giants in the stories of the Sami were nocturnal and would turn to stone if caught by the rays of the sun. In one story, “Au royaume du géant,” a group of sailors sail their ship to the realm of the...

Tales from Sapmi – Sacred Stones

Just Knud Qvigstad tells three stories about the seida, the sacred stones of the Sami. The glossary in his book Contes de Laponie defines the seida as objects in which spirits and gods can manifest themselves, especially blocks of stone. Story One A wealthy mountain...

Tales from Sapmi – The Halde

The glossary in Just Qvigstad’s book, Contes de Laponie, indicates that the Halde are invisible spirits. In one tale, “The Young Halde Girl,” the Halde manipulate an unsuspecting young shepherd. A man herding his sheep in the mountains of Kvaenangen sees a house with...

Novel Writing Update – February 2024

The End. Book One. The structural edit on book one is finished. The working title is Autumn in Copenhagen, but it will not be published under that title. Aksel and Anneka needed ninety thousand words to tell their story. All of the words fit together now, and seven...

The Original Duke Romance

Often considered France's first work of historical fiction, in which the author wove fictional characters into real historical events, The Princess of Cleves by Madame de Lafayette could also be called the first historical romance novel with a duke, a man aptly...

Tales from Sapmi – The Stallo

Two stories from Just Qvigstad’s Contes de Laponie continue the idea of the Stallo as killers of men. One story, “La jeune fille rusee,” tells of a Stallo who kidnapped a girl and took her to his forest home. Men searched for her for a long time. One man noticed marks...

Tales from Sapmi – Overview

I found a helpful glossary in the back of Just Qvigstad’s book. There are so many fantastical spirits and forest creatures in Sami traditions and in the general folklore of Scandinavia that it is difficult to keep them all straight. My definitions are paraphrased...

Sami Christmas Tales – The Stallo

The Stallo I have been translating a French adaptation of Just Qvigstad’s record of stories from Sapmi by Jacques Privat. I refer to the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, and Finland as Sapmi, and the indigineous people of that region as Sami, rather than the...

Who was Just Knud Qvigstad?

 Just Knud Qvigstad, 1853-1957, was my great-grandmother's brother. Mayor of Tromso, Norway, he was also a linguist. He published over a hundred academic papers on the Sami language and Sami history. I have recently been hunting for his work, but unfortunately I...