Finn Family Moomintroll
About the Author
Tove Jansson (1914–2001) was a Finnish writer and artist. She was born and lived for most of her life in Helsinki, though she also studied in Stockholm and Paris. Jansson’s early training was as a painter and she continued to exhibit her work, as well as practising as a muralist and illustrator, long after becoming internationally well known for her writing. From 1945 she published ten novels and several other books in the Moomin series, beginning with The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945), which have become world-famous as classics of children’s literature; she is also the author of novels and short stories for adults, including The Summer Book (1972), recognised as a quiet masterpiece when it first appeared in English in 2003. Jansson was a member of Finland’s Swedish-speaking linguistic minority and is regarded as a pioneering LGBT writer, having lived for 45 years with a female partner. Her fame is secured by the global popularity of the Moomin novels, which have been adapted for film, stage, TV and opera, and inspired a museum and a theme park in Finland. Jansson’s other artistic work is on permanent display at the Helsinki Art Museum.