Kitty Lossius (April 19, 1892 – November 26, 1981)[2] was a Norwegian teacher and novelist.[3][4] She had a publishing career that lasted nearly fifty years.

Kitty Lossius
Born(1892-04-19)April 19, 1892
DiedNovember 26, 1981(1981-11-26) (aged 89)
OccupationAuthor
SpouseRobert Sperati[1]

Life and work edit

Lossius grew up in Kristiansund,[5] where she graduated from high school in 1908.[4] She graduated as a teacher from Levanger Normal School in 1914,[4][6] and she took a four-month course at the State Gymnastics School in 1917.[4]

She debuted with the novel Ranka Paus (1919), and later she wrote the play Grobund (1920) and ten more novels and two books for young girls.[7][8][9]

Her books are described as "stamped with the character of Kristiansund."[10] Her debut novel is about a priest's wife that is an author and experiences her opinions colliding with the role of a priest's wife. The play Grobund is about contrasts between the bourgeoisie and the working class.[11] Her books are referred to both as entertaining literature[7][12] and as psychologically-realistic novels from a bourgeois environment.[13] The novel Enken og jomfruen (The Widow and the Maiden, 1954) is based on actual events; her grandfather's love story with an elderly widow.[14]

Family edit

Lossius's grandfather Caspar Kahrs Lossius (1799–1868) was a farmer and the mayor of Aure, and her father Caspar Kahrs Lossius (1844–1906) was a ship's captain and hotel owner.[6] After her father's death, Lossius's mother Christine Magdalene (née Eberg)[15] took over running the hotel, and Lossius worked for a time in a bookstore.[16] She worked as a teacher in Kristiansund from 1915 to 1932, when she quit due to illness.[4] In 1934 she was living in Oslo.[4] She was married to the actor Robert Sperati.[1]

Bibliography edit

  • 1919: Ranka Paus (Kristiania: Helge Erichsen)
  • 1920: Grobund (Kristiania: Helge Erichsen)
  • 1921: Pensionærer (Kristiania: Aschehoug)
  • 1922: Boggis & Co. – fortelling for unge piker (Kristiania: Aschehoug)
  • 1924: Lykken (Kristiania: Aschehoug)
  • 1925: Frøken Snobb og hjerterdame (Oslo: Aschehoug)
  • 1946: Familien Testmann (Oslo: Aschehoug)
  • 1947: Helene Lange gjør statur opp (Oslo: Aschehoug)
  • 1951: Rød måne (Oslo: Aschehoug)
  • 1954: Enken og jomfruen (Oslo: Aschehoug)
  • 1963: Christoffers ring (Oslo: Aschehoug)
  • 1964: Bare rett over gaten (Oslo: Aschehoug)
  • 1966: Måne i ne – variasjoner over et tema (Oslo: Aschehoug)

References edit

  1. ^ a b Hydle, Halvdan; Fikkan, Kristian; Hegna, J. B. (1950). Hvem skrev hva i de siste 25 år. Oslo: Schibsted. p. 329.
  2. ^ "Kitty Lossius". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Johnsen, Arne Odd (1963). Kristiansunds historie: 1. halvb. Den store veksttid, 1814. Kristiansund: I kommisjon hos Barmans bokhandel og Sverdrups bokhandel. p. 749.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Espeland, Arne (1934). Norske skolefolk. Stavanger: Dreyer. p. 797.
  5. ^ Grimstad, Leiv Arne; Bjørlykke, Liv Randi; Ruset, Arne (1994). Springflod: forfattarane i Møre og Romsdal. Larsnes: Vista. p. 141. ISBN 8299217741.
  6. ^ a b Johnsen, Arne Odd (1965). Kristiansunds historie. Bind 5: Den store veksttid, 1814–ca. 1900. Kristiansund: Barmans bokhandel. p. 745.
  7. ^ a b Åse Hiorth Lervik (1992). "Kitty Lossius 'Grobund' (1920), et drama om kjønn og klasse". In Holmen, Tone (ed.). Kvinneforskermaraton II. Tromsø: Universitetet i Tromsø. Nettverk for kvinner i forskning. pp. 23–28. ISBN 8291167001.
  8. ^ Sommerfeldt, W. P. (1954). Norske forfattere 1881–1920: personregister. Oslo: Sverre Dahl. p. 90.
  9. ^ Isaksen, Eva Husebø (1998). Kvinneskjebner i Kitty Lossius forfatterskap. En analyse av romanene Ranka Paus og Pensionærer. Tromsø: Hovedoppgave i nordisk, Universitetet i Tromsø.
  10. ^ Aass, Eivind (1991). Byen som brant: Kristiansund 1900–1942. Kristiansund: I kommisjon hos Barmans bokhandel. p. 480.
  11. ^ Aasen, Elisabeth (1986). Kvinners spor i skrift: supplement til norsk litteraturhistorie. Oslo: Samlaget. pp. 152, 156. ISBN 8252128432.
  12. ^ Norsk kvinnelitteraturhistorie Bind 2: 1900–1945. Oslo: Pax. 1989. p. 167. ISBN 8253014333.
  13. ^ Dahl, Willy (1971). Nytt norsk forfatterleksikon. Oslo: Gyldendal. p. 156. ISBN 8205004773.
  14. ^ Orten, Per Eilert (2000). Bygdabok for Aure. Bind 2: "Den nye dagen gryr": bygdabok for Aure 1800–1900: allmenn historie. Aure: Aure kommune. p. 372. ISBN 9788299752015.
  15. ^ Klokkerbok for Grytten prestegjeld, Grytten sokn 1867-1909 (1539P), Fødte og døpte: 1892-06-19.
  16. ^ Folketelling 1910 for 1503 Kristiansund kjøpstad, Tellingskrets: 008, Bosted by: 0008 Storgaten, Leilighet: 03.