Gösta Knutsson’s Followers (9)

Gösta Knutsson

Born

in Stockholm, Sweden

October 12, 1908

Died

April 04, 1973

Genre

Children's

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Gösta Lars August Knutsson (original surname Johansson; 12 October 1908, Stockholm – 4 April 1973) was a Swedish radio producer and writer of a popular series of children's books about the cat Pelle Svanslös.

Gösta Knutsson was born in a middle-class family in Stockholm and came to the University of Uppsala as a student, remaining in Uppsala for the rest of his life. After completing an M.A. degree, he was curator (chairman) of the Stockholm Nation and later chairman of the Uppsala Student Union (1936–1938). He was also editor of the student union paper Ergo 1940-42. During his time as student union chairman, he was also employed as head of the Uppsala office of the Swedish National Radio and remained there from 1936 until 1969. As such he i Gösta Lars August Knutsson (original surname Johansson; 12 October 1908, Stockholm – 4 April 1973) was a Swedish radio producer and writer of a popular series of children's books about the cat Pelle Svanslös.

Gösta Knutsson was born in a middle-class family in Stockholm and came to the University of Uppsala as a student, remaining in Uppsala for the rest of his life. After completing an M.A. degree, he was curator (chairman) of the Stockholm Nation and later chairman of the Uppsala Student Union (1936–1938). He was also editor of the student union paper Ergo 1940-42. During his time as student union chairman, he was also employed as head of the Uppsala office of the Swedish National Radio and remained there from 1936 until 1969. As such he introduced the quiz show in Sweden, with the first one recruiting the two teams from two of the student nations in Uppsala.

Knutsson is most remembered for his series of children's books about Pelle Svanslös, "Peter No-Tail", a good-hearted and often naïve cat whose tail had been bitten off by a rat when he was a kitten. The books contain a number of other cats such as Pelle's darling Maja Gräddnos ("Mary Cream-nose") or his adversary, the bully Elaka Måns ("Mean Magnus"), who never forgets reminding Pelle of his lack of a tail, and Måns' two followers Bill and Bull, who tend to repeat everything Måns says in fragmentary and garbled form. The anthropomorphic cats mostly live in the area around the cathedral and the university in Uppsala, seen from a somewhat feline perspective.

Knutsson has said that the tailless cat Pelle was based on a real cat he had himself known for a summer in his childhood, but also that the cat was his own alter ego. Maja Gräddnos is supposedly based on his own wife Erna. Måns is generically evil with elements fetched from Hitler and Mussolini. The other cats were all caricatures of people among Knutsson's own circle of friends and acquaintances in Uppsala.

Pelle Svanslös made his public debut in a story told by Knutsson on radio in 1937, with the first book appearing in 1939. The Pelle Svanslös books have been reprinted in Swedish many times and have also been translated to Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, German, Latvian, and Polish. ...more

Combine Editions
Gösta Knutsson’s books

Average rating: 3.58 · 1,688 ratings · 128 reviews · 72 distinct works • Similar authors

	Przygody Filonka Bezogonka by Gösta Knutsson, Zygmunt Łanowski (translator) 3.80 avg rating — 373 ratings — published 1939 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pelle Svanslös på nya äventyr by Gösta Knutsson, Lucie Lundberg 3.57 avg rating — 110 ratings — published 1940 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pelle Svanslös och Maja Gräddnos 3.71 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 1947 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pelle Svanslös och Taxen Max 3.56 avg rating — 79 ratings — published 1944 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pelle Svanslös i Amerika 3.30 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 1941 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pelle Svanslös i skolan 3.48 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 1945 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Heja Pelle Svanslös 3.46 avg rating — 69 ratings — published 1946 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hur ska det gå för Pelle Svanslös? 3.43 avg rating — 67 ratings — published 1943 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pekka Töpöhäntä by Gösta Knutsson, Terttu Liukko (Translator) 3.79 avg rating — 56 ratings — published 1945	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pelle Svanslös klarar sig 3.49 avg rating — 55 ratings — published 1942 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Gösta Knutsson’s Followers (9)

Gösta Knutsson

Combine EditionsGösta Knutsson’s books

Series by Gösta Knutsson

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Gösta Knutsson’s books