The Spirits Dance
The Diary of Siselia Jonsdotter 1772
Siselia, Elfver, Annecke and Chrestina, the same names that we recognise today, well almost. Did they think the same way as us? What was it really like to live in the year 1772? To write about a period in history requires a great deal of research to grasp the spirit of the times and uncover the details that bring the tale to life.
The Spirits Dance is one of a series of books that Rabén & Sjögren published in 2003 and 2004. The other authors are: Tomas Blom, Bo R. Holmberg, Björk Isakson and Lena Kallenberg.
Rabén&Sjögren 2004
ISBN 91-29-66028-9
“- Elfver,” I whispered. “There! Look - over there!”
A blurry spot of light flickered under the bank of fog out on The Ridge. As if someone was trying to strike a light with a flint and failing. There it was again! And now it shone brighter. We could see how the light swayed slowly back and forth in a gentle dance. But it was so weak and so indistinct that I had to rub my eyes to assure myself that it was real. And then it struck me: what if the elves were back again! I was considerably more scared of elves than of an erroneous old surveyor going about. Now I was glad that I had dripped goats-milk around the forest for them.
Siselia lives in a time when belief in the supernatural is part of everyday life. Well one never knows – it is best to appease the invisible forces. It is a time of upheaval, society is on the threshold of a new order. It is the time of the great redistribution of land holdings. Village life is disappearing and soon every farmer will be his own master and independent of his neighbours. With the new property boundaries comes discord and suspicion. The surveyors are often unwelcome. Perchance they’ll get the measurements wrong and be doomed to wander the earth until things are put right.
Cover: Katarina Strömgård
