Lindgren, Astrid, 1907–2002, Swedish author of children's fiction, b. Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson. She worked as a secretary before turning to writing as a profession and later was a children's book editor. Her best-known book is the widely translated Pippi Långstrump (1945; tr. Pippi Longstocking, 1950), the story of a sea captain's impertinent, unconventional young daughter who lives in a house with her pet monkey and horse but no adults. Without formal education but possessed of superhuman strength and many adult skills, Pippi loves to tell tall tales and has numerous adventures with two children who live next door. The book was followed by sequels (1946, 1948) and has been adapted for screen and television in Sweden and the United States. Lindgren won the international Hans Christian Andersen Award for her writing in 1958.
See her wartime diaries (tr. 2016).
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