The Emigrants

This book follows the lives of early Swedish pioneers in America and portrays the joys and tragedies of their daily life. The author, Vilhelm Moberg, extensively researched the papers of Swedish emigrants and incorporated many details of pioneer life. The four books were intended to be read as documentary novels and include introductions by experts in Swedish history. Book 1 introduces Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson, along with their three young children and eleven others who make up a resolute party of Swedes fleeing poverty, religious persecution, and social oppression of Småland in 1850. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of Swedish emigration to America.