Gripe, Maria (1923–)
Gripe, Maria (1923–)
Swedish writer. Born July 25, 1923, in Vaxholm, Sweden; graduated from Stockholm University; m. Harold Gripe (painter, illustrator, founder of Swedish Toy Theater Museum); children: Camila.
Renowned writer of novels for children and young adults, wrote initially in traditional narrative style and about traditional subjects in such works as Hugo and Josephine (1960); went on to address such themes as alcoholism, imprisonment, jealousy, birth, maladjustment, death and loneliness, using realist style; experimented with voice, narrating 5 novels about the character Elvis Karlsson from a child's point of view (1972–79); incorporated supernatural elements within a realistic framework in such works as The Glass-blower's Children (1964), The Chafer Flies at Dusk (1978) and The Shadow Across the Stone Bench (1982); also wrote Josephine (1961), In the Time of the Bells (1965), Hugo (1966), The Land Beyond (1967), Night Daddy (1968), Julia's House (1971), Elvis and His Secret (1972), Elvis and His Friends (1973), The Green Coat (1974) and Agnes Cecelia (1981). Received Nils Holgersson Prize for Hugo and Josephine (1963) and Hans Christian Andersen Medal (1974).