Frid Ingulstad

Frid Ingulstad
Ingulstad in 2015
Born(1935-09-04)4 September 1935
Oslo, Norway
Died9 May 2026(2026-05-09) (aged 90)
Oslo, Norway
OccupationsNovelist, stenographer
Years active1990–2024
Spouse
Arnulf Ingulstad
​
(m. 1975)​
Children3
AwardsOslo City art award (2010)
King's Medal of Merit (2018)

Frid Ingulstad (4 September 1935 – 9 May 2026) was a Norwegian novelist and stenographer. She primarily wrote historical novels and book series. Ingulstad was one of the best-selling authors in Norway, and published more than 200 books.[1][2] Ingulstad was best known for her novel series Sønnavind, which was a series of historical novels set among factory workers along the Akerselva. Other series by her are Kongsdøtrene, Ildkorset, and Ingebjørg Olavsdatter. She also wrote children's books, both fiction and non-fiction.[3][4]

Career

Ingulstad worked for Fred. Olsen Airtransport as a stenographer and then as a flight attendant, then on the Norwegian America Line ship Idefjord as a radio telegrapher,[5] before becoming a full-time writer in 1990. Her first book, Hva livet gir deg, Camilla, was published in 1965; a travel book had been previously rejected.[6] In 1998, Ingulstad began writing the Kongsdøtrene series, which would span 15 books and conclude in 2007.[7][8] That same year, she also began writing the Królowe Wikingów series, which contained six novels.[7][9] In 2003, she began writing the Ingebjørg Olavsdatter series, which concluded in 2018 and contained 14 novels.[7][10] She was perhaps best known for her novel series, Sønnavind, a series of historical novels set among factory workers along the Akerselva. It was released in 2005.[11][12] In 2020, she wrote the 100th book of the series with Velkommen hjem, set in 1959.[13] The series would conclude in 2024 with 124 novels total.[14]

Ingulstad was one of the best-selling authors in Norway.[1] In 2006, 420,000 of her books were sold.[2] She had total sales of approximately 4 million books at the time of her death.[15] She published her 200th book (in the Sønnavind series) in 2013.[16] In 2020, she had published a total of 243 books.[13] She published an autobiography, Min historie, in 2007.[15][17] In 2015, she published a biography of Betzy Kjelsberg titled Betzy.[18] That same year, she started writing the Ildkorset series.[7][19] From 2022 to 2023, she wrote the Frids historiske series.[7][20]

Ingulstad was repeatedly rejected for membership in the Norwegian Authors' Union, occasioning discussion about the organisation's definition of "literary worth".[2][15][21][22] At its foundation in 2018, she became a member of the initial board of directors of the rival organisation Forfatterforbundet.[23]

In her later years, her writing career slowed down due to a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease; however, Ingulstad credited her writing as a way to deal with the illness.[11]

Personal life and death

Ingulstad was born in Oslo, Norway, on 4 September 1935.[6][3][11] She married Arnulf Ingulstad, an engineer, in 1975. They have a son together, and two daughters from her first marriage.[5] They lived in the house where she was born and raised, in the Kastellet section of Nordstrand, in Oslo.[6]

Ingulstad died from complications of Parkinson's disease in Oslo on 9 May 2026, at the age of 90.[11][24]

Awards and honours

Ingulstad's novel, Mannemakt og mørkemakter, won the first prize in a contest by the publisher Dreijer.[2] Her other novel, Munken (1991), won a prize from Gyldendal.[1]

She received the Oslo City art award in 2010[25] and the King's Medal of Merit in 2018.[26] In 2017, the Riksmål Society awarded her its first personal prize.[12][27]

Selected bibliography

  • Munken (1991)[1]
  • Kongsdøtrene series (1998–2007)[7][8]
  • Królowe Wikingów series (1998)[7][9]
  • Ingebjørg Olavsdatter series (2003–2018)[7][10]
  • Sønnavind series (2005–2024)[7][14]
  • Ildkorset series (2015)[7][19]
  • Betzy (2015)[18]
  • Frids historiske series (2022–2023)[7][20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Tom Egeland, "Norges mest leste runder 80", Den norske Forfatterforening, 1 September 2015 (in Norwegian).
  2. 1 2 3 4 Alexander Nyhagen, "Norges mestselgende forfatter har for liten litterær verdi: Nektes medlemskap i Forfatterforeningen", VG, 23 January 2007 (in Norwegian).
  3. 1 2 "Frid Ingulstad", Store norske leksikon, 11 December 2019, retrieved 16 September 2020 (in Norwegian).
  4. ↑ Jan-erik Ebbestad Hansen, "Biografi i Betzy Kjelsbergs ånd", Aftenposten, 12 September 2015 (in Norwegian).
  5. 1 2 Simen V. Gonsholt, "Kioskvelteren", Dagbladet, 5 February 2007, updated 15 December 2016 (in Norwegian).
  6. 1 2 3 Andrine Davidsen, "Gratulerer med dagen, Frid Ingulstad !", Nordstrands Blad, 4 September 2015 (in Norwegian).
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "All Book Series by Frid Ingulstad". Goodreads. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Kongsdøtrene Series". Goodreads. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Królowe Wikingów Series". Goodreads. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Ingebjørg Olavsdatter Series". Goodreads. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Sønnavind forfatter Frid Ingulstad er død" (in Norwegian). VG.no. 9 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Riksmålspriser og hilsen fra statsministeren", Riksmålsforbundet, 12 November 2017 (in Norwegian).
  13. 1 2 Leif Gjerland, "Oslo før: En sønnavind 'helt i hundre'", Aftenposten, 19 January 2020 (in Norwegian).
  14. 1 2 "Sønnavind Series". Goodreads. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 Steffen Aagedal and Mette Kamilla Skjong, "'Jeg opplevde mediekjøret som hysteri'", NRK, 21 August 2007 (in Norwegian).
  16. ↑ "200 bøker fra Frids hånd", Serieliv.no, 9 April 2013 (in Norwegian).
  17. ↑ NTB, "Millionselgeren Frid Ingulstad med selvbiografi", Finansavisen, August 2007 (in Norwegian).
  18. 1 2 "Intervju med Frid Ingulstad". NRK. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Ildkorset Series". Goodreads. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Frids historiske Series". Goodreads. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  21. ↑ Kaja Korsvold, "Avviser halvparten", Aftenposten, 22 April 2007, updated 19 October 2011 (in Norwegian).
  22. ↑ Hilde Bjørnskau, "Frid Ingulstad: 'Det er uvirkelig'", NRK, 3 October 2015 (in Norwegian).
  23. ↑ "Innspill til kulturmeldingen fra Forfatterforbundet", 13 August 2018 (in Norwegian).
  24. ↑ "Annonser for Frid Ingulstad". Anne Line Begravelsesbyraa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  25. ↑ Julie Messel, "Ble hedret av Oslo", Nettavisen, 6 May 2010 (in Norwegian).
  26. ↑ "Frid Ingulstad tildelt H.M. Kongens fortjenestemedalje", Bodøposten, 9 March 2018 (in Norwegian).
  27. ↑ "Riksmålsforbundets priser til Burkey og Ingulstad", Den norske Forfatterforening, 16 October 2017 (in Norwegian).
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