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Alvestad #1

by Elin Brend Johansen

- God dag. Jeg er Ingrid Alvestad, og dette er min søster Louise. Ingrid lot som hun ikke la merke til det fiendtlige blikket, men inni seg skalv hun.- Jeg vet hvem dere er. Kvinnen rørte seg ikke. - Dere synes vel det var greit å komme nå, som husbonden er død. Det er som dem sier: Etter døden kommer gribbene. Det er så sant som det er sagt.

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2010

About the author

Elin Brend Johansen is a Norwegian author.

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is set in the year 1872, where 19 year old Ingrid Alvestad is engaged to August Møller, a rich law student, basically providing her the ticket to the upper class in Christiania (today named Oslo). One day she receives a telegram telling her that her father is dead. She hasn't seen him since she was a little girl, and her mother took her and her sister away from his farm and to the city. She realizes as the oldest daughter of her father that she is to inherit the farm, and decides that it is her duty to go out there and at least her his will being read. Both her younger sister Louise, her fiancee and her grandmother thinks it's a bad idea, and her grandmother even suffers a stroke.
But Ingrid is a strong-minded girl, and takes her sister to Alvestad farm. They meet all kinds of people, workers and friends of her father, and Ingrid treats them all with respect, something that surprises everyone there. When she hears that since she is under 21 and unmarried, she isn't considered an adult, and has to have a guardian to inherit the farm, discovers that her father wasn't as rich as people thought and even strongly considers to keep the farm and run it herself, she writes a letter to August, asking him to come up and help.
But the man that comes to see her is completely changed. Or is it her that has changed?

I have to admit I like the stories about women in the Victorian age being all headstrong, stubborn and working against what a woman is expected to be. I can totally relate, and I was myself outraged at what some people said to Ingrid in the book. So if you agree, this is a book series you should check out! I'm not sure if I'm going to read more of the books, but I'm sure Ingrid will do fine and make herself a happy life and nice living on her own.

(Note: Even though this is one of the typical Norwegian supermarket books, this one actually only has ONE sleazy bastard in it, and he wasn't even that bad! Seems promising, cause all other type of books like this I have read are full of rape and other horrible things.)

PS: I have two copies of this, so if someone wants one...