Gripe, Maria

(1923-)

   A Swedish writer of children's books, Gripe is not quite as well known as her colleague Astrid Lindgren, but she is widely read in Sweden and her work has been translated into many languages, including English. Her books emphasize children's fantasy life and characters that experience significant psychological development in the course of the story. This is the case in her series about Hugo and Josephine, Josefin (1961; tr. Josephine, 1969), Hugo och Josefin (1962; tr. Hugo and Josephine, 1971), and Hugo (1966; tr. 1971), as well as in Elvis Karlsson (1972; tr. Elvis and His Secret, 1976) and its sequels, one of which is Elvis! Elvis! (1973; tr. Elvis and His Friends, 1976). Gripe's novel Glasblaåsarens barn (1964; tr. The Glassblower's Children, 1973) tells about children who are taken into a fantasy world; it also discusses the nature of parental love.