Chapter 7. The journey of “Lille Alvilde”

Abstract

Maurits Hansen’s short story “Lille Alvilde” (Little Alvilde, 1829), about a small girl’s idyllic encounter with a bear, is considered a Norwegian classic. Since it was first published, it has been reprinted numerous times in several Norwegian publications. Its extensive publishing history made it available to a large readership and ensured its canonization. Moreover, Hansen’s story was distributed abroad, and translated versions were printed in England and the United States. In this chapter, we present the journey of “Lille Alvilde”, from Norway to England and the United States, and back again. By tracing the transnational publishing and translation history of the original text into the different English versions, we unpack the distribution, translation, and transformation of Hansen’s canonized story.