SOPHIE ELKAN & SELMA LAGERLÖF

SOPHIE ELKAN & SELMA LAGERLÖF

Sophie Elkan was the niece of August Abrahamson, who owned the Nääs estate including the castle and School of Crafts. In January 1894 she met the Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf for the first time. This meeting resulted in a lifelong, close and affectionate friendship between the two women writers that lasted nearly thirty years, up till Sophie’s death in 1921. They spent a total of 22 summers together at Nääs.
The estate played a big role in both Sophie Elkan’s and Selma Lagerlöf’s lives. This can be seen most clearly in Selma Lagerlöf’s book “The Wonderful Adventures of Nils” where a whole chapter describes life at Nääs around the turn of the last century.