Alberta Alone

Cora Sandel

TRANSLATED FROM THE NORWEGIAN BY ELIZABETH ROKKAN

First English edition, 1965, Jacket design by Keith Cunningham

This edition is in remarkably good condition for its age. The dust jacket has yellowed slightly, and it has a few minor scratch marks, but both of these features are barely noticeable. The book itself is tightly bound, and has no inscriptions or blemishes.

The work of one of Norway's most distinguished twentieth-century novelists, Alberta Alone forms the last part of the Alberta trilogy, which traces the emotional development of a lethargic and unhappy girl into a self-sufficient woman. The previous volumes of this trilogy have been widely acclaimed as being among the masterpieces of contemporary literature.

In this third part, which stands as a novel on its own, Alberta, now mistress to Sivert, a Norwegian artist, is living in Paris with their small son. While Sivert is involved in a liaison with a Swedish painter, Alberta falls in love with Pierre, a writer who has just returned from the First World War. After a period of conflict Sivert and Alberta return to Norway, and there Alberta's self-realisation becomes complete. With subtlety and insight, Cora Sandel depicts the gradual corrosion of a relationship, against the background of the aftermath of the Great War.