The Wonderful Adventure of Nils Holgersson

Scandinavia’s best-loved children’s classic, from the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature 

A Penguin Classic

Nils Holgersson is a naughty boy who tortures animals and never listens to his parents—until one day he wakes up as an elf. Deeply puzzled by his new status, he climbs on a gander’s back and flies away with him, joining a flock of wild geese. As he is carried around Sweden, Nils learns everything about birds, animals, his country and good behavior. Incredibly charming and poignant, The Wonderful Adventure of Nils Holgersson is a timeless classic loved by generations of children around the world.By the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

“A masterpiece . . . It showed me that a book could be an adventure.” —Gary Shteyngart

“A childhood favorite.” —Philip Gourevitch

“Among women novelists of great talent or genius, none, in my opinion, is to be placed higher than Selma Lagerlöf.” —Marguerite Yourcenar

“Every book of this great storyteller keeps on bringing us astonishing examples of her art . . . No one in Europe can tell tales so unforgettably.” —Hermann HesseSelma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1909. Her novel The Saga of Gösta Berling is also available in Penguin Classics.

Paul Norlen (translator) has translated Selma Lagerlöf's The Saga of Gösta Berling for Penguin Classics. He was awarded the American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Prize in 2004 and lives in Seattle.