Like many avid readers, when I find an author I very much enjoy I tend to read through his or her entire body of work. Most recently this has led me deep into the novels of the Finnish author and artist Tove Jansson. As her novels were all originally written in Swedish (she was a member of the Swedish-speaking minority population of Finland), not one of the languages in which I am fluent, I must rely on English translations – some of which are rather difficult to obtain. Thus, for those who – like me – are interested in the writings of Ms. Jansson, I have compiled a reading list containing the entirety (to the best of my knowledge) of her published novels and collections of short stories.

  • The Moomins and the Great Flood (Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen), 1945
  • Comet in Moominland (Kometjakten), 1946
  • Finn Family Moomintroll (Trollkarlens hatt), 1948
  • The Exploits of Moominpappa (Muminpappans bravader), 1950 – re-publishd as Moominpappa’s Memoirs (Muminpappans memoarer), 1968
  • Moominsummer Madness (Farlig midsommar), 1954
  • Moominland Midwinter (Trollvinter), 1957
  • Tales from Moominvalley (Det osynliga barnet och andra berättelser, literally “The Invisible Child and other stories”), 1962
  • Moominpappa at Sea (Pappan och havet), 1965
  • The Sculptor’s Daughter (Bildhuggarens dotter), 1968 – now out of print
  • Moominvalley in November (Sent i November), 1970
  • The Listener (Lyssnerskan), 1971 – no English translation has yet been published; however one is expected in 2014 from Sort Of Books
  • The Summer Book (Sommarboken), 1972
  • Sun City (Solstaden), 1974 – now out of print
  • Art in Nature (Dockskåpet och andra berättelser, literally “The Dollhouse and Other Stories”), 1978
  • The True Deceiver (Den ärliga bedragaren, literally “The Honest Swindler”), 1982
  • The Field of Stones (Stenåkern), 1984 – no English translation has yet been published
  • Travelling Light (Resa med lätt bagage, literally “Travelling with Light Luggage”), 1987
  • Fair Play (Rent spel), 1989
  • Letters from Klara (Brev från Klara och andra berättelser, literally “Letters from Klara and Other Stories”), 1991 – no English translation has yet been published
  • The Winter Book (A selection of stories from The Sculptor’s Daughter as well as original translations of stories originally written between 1971-1996), 1998

Some may be surprised that I have included Ms. Jansson’s Moomin books in this list along with her later works. I have done so for the simple reason that, after having read a selection from both her Moomin and “non-Moomin” writings, I do not think it is possible to understand fully one without the other; they are both inextricable facets of her literary imagination which must be considered as a whole by anyone seeking an appropriately nuanced understanding of her work.

My profound gratitude is humbly offered to Miss Adele Pennington, publisher of Moominmania, for all the effort she has put into maintaining her vast online repository of information about the creations of Tove Jansson.