Ronia the Robber's Daughter

:"For the 1984 film, see Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (film)."

Infobox Book
name = Ronia the Robber's Daughter
title_orig = Ronja Rövardotter
translator =


image_caption = Trina Schart Hyman's cover for "Ronia the Robber's Daughter" (1985 Puffin Books edition)
author = Astrid Lindgren
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = Sweden
language = Swedish
series =
subject =
genre =
publisher = Rabén & Sjögren
pub_date = 1981
english_pub_date =
media_type =
pages = 235 pp
isbn = ISBN 91-29-54877-2
oclc = 9462379
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Ronia the Robber's Daughter" (Swedish: "Ronja Rövardotter") is the children's fantasy book by the noted Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, first published in 1981. In the film based on the story, Ronia was played by Hanna Zetterberg Struwe.

Plot summary

Ronia, its main character, is a girl growing up in a castle in the wood in a clan of robbers. As she is the only child of Matt's, the chief, she is expected to become the leader of the clan someday. Their castle, Matt's Fort, is split in two parts by a lightning bolt on the day of her birth. Soon afterwards, a different clan of robbers, the 'Borkas', settles the other side of the mountain, resulting in much strife between the two clans. Ronia grows up with Matt's clan of robbers as her only company. One day, Ronia sees Birk Borkason, the only son of the enemy chieftain, Borka, idling by the chasm that splits the two parts of the castle. He is the only other child she has ever met, and so she is sorry that he is a Borka. He engages her in a game of jumping across, which does not end until Birk almost falls down. Ronia saves him and they become friends.

The next winter is long and cold and although Matt's robbers are well fed, their counterparts are suffering on the other side of the chasm. Ronia brings food through a secret passageway to Birk. They get very close but both know that they cannot tell it to their families. Later that year Birk saves Ronia from being captured by the faeries only to be captured himself by Ronia's father. Ronia gives herself to the Borkas so she must be exchanged, but as a result her father disowns her and refuses to let her be his daughter. Birk and Ronia run away to the woods. Ultimately their families repent of their feuding, and everyone is reunited.

Adaptations

Film

:see "Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (film)

In 1984, the book was made into a Swedish fantasy film. It was directed by the Swedish film director Tage Danielsson and adapted for screenplay by Astrid Lindgren herself. It was a major success, becoming the highest-grossing 1984 film in Sweden, [cite journal
last = Holmlund
first = Christine
title = Pippi and Her Pals
journal = Cinema Journal
volume = 42.2
issue = Winter 2003
pages = 4
year = 2003] and winning a Silver Bear at the 1985 Berlin International Film Festival. [ cite web
title = Awards for "Ronja Rövardotter" (1984)
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088015/awards
accessdate = 2008-07-07 ] More than 1.5 million people attended its screenings in Sweden. [ cite web
title = Box office / business for "Ronja Rövardotter" (1984)
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088015/business
accessdate = 2008-07-08 ]

Musical

In 1994 the book was made into a German musical called "Ronja Räubertochter". The musical was made by Axel Bergstedt only in the German language. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EACm1pqXFYk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEnX-W4WZPE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcrmrI-QNa4&feature=related]

tage

A production in the Balver Höhle was performed in 1993 and 2004 with its musical director Ralf Linke, Oberkirch (Baden) in 2006. The German adaptation was written by Barbara Hass.

Translations

Two English translations exist which provide different translations of the Swedish names.

[cite book | last=Edström | first=Vivi | others=Eivor Cormack, trans. | title=Astrid Lindgren: A Critical Study | origyear=1992 | year=2000 | publisher=Rabén & Sjögren | pages= 271-293]

References