Ida Jessen’s new book is now out in Denmark!

A WOMAN’S LIFE, erupting with brilliance and promise, is fissured by marital neglect and the pressures of family duty. What had once seemed a fulfilment through motherhood has become a trap, and she struggles between being the wife and mother she is bound to be and yearning for so much more.

SIGRID UNDSET (1882-1949) WANTED to be a writer, wanted to fall passionately in love, wanted a large family, wanted her political commitment and her faith, wanted to burn her candle at both ends. As her marriage unravelled and her family fell apart, Sigrid turned increasingly to writing to express her pain and loss, yet also her resilience and power.

IDA JESSEN – HERSELF an acclaimed writer and literary master at exploring female voices – is captivated by the life of this Norwegian author. She seeks to unravel the circumstances under which Undset created the famous novels that earned her the Nobel Prize in 1928 amidst the challenges of raising six children, coping with divorce, running a bustling household, and burning the midnight oil to pursue her literary ambitions.