Delightfully child-like in some ways, perversely voyeuristic in others, this book has the potential to be a cult classic. It's a fascinating journey in miniature through several doll's houses complete with their original mid-century furnishings, wallpaper and details. Skillful photography puts you right into the center of these mint-condition dwellings, built during the 1950's and '60's by three internationally recognized Swedish toy makers, Brio, Lundby and Micki. All of these elements blend to create an incredibly rich historical document. This eccentric but addictive book will be a favorite of not only retrophiles and interior designers but also anyone who has spent long days playing with a beloved doll house.
Step into the world of societal expectations and personal liberation with Henrik Ibsen's groundbreaking play, "A Doll's House." This poignant narrative follows Nora Helmer, a seemingly content wife, as she grapples with the constraints of her marriage and the roles imposed on her by society. As the story unfolds, Ibsen masterfully reveals the complexities of marriage, gender roles, and individual identity. Nora's journey of self-discovery challenges the traditional notions of femininity and duty, making this play a timeless exploration of personal freedom and societal norms. But here’s the provocative question that will ignite your curiosity: What happens when a woman decides to reclaim her autonomy in a world that expects her to conform? Nora’s bold choices lead to dramatic revelations that resonate deeply with audiences, prompting reflection on the nature of love and sacrifice. With its rich character development and powerful dialogue, "A Doll's House" remains a cornerstone of modern theater. Ibsen's unflinching examination of societal expectations encourages readers to confront their own beliefs about relationships and personal agency. Are you ready to witness Nora's transformative journey as she challenges the confines of her domestic life? This play is essential for anyone interested in literature that examines social issues and the human condition. Ibsen's compelling storytelling invites audiences to engage with the fundamental questions of identity, duty, and freedom. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience this revolutionary work. Purchase "A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen" today and join the conversation about the roles we play in our own lives.
Discover classic and contemporary Scandinavian style with specially commissioned photography of homes in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Discover classic and contemporary Scandinavian style with specially commissioned photography of homes in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Scandinavia is famous for its distinctive style: homes are pared-back and simple, and form and function are combined to create aesthetically pleasing and practical interiors. Scandinavians are inspired by light, having an abundance of it in summer but so little of it in winter, and house designs tend to maximize the amount of natural light that enters the home, and allow the inhabitants to make the most of outdoor life during the summer. Similarly, nature and the weather are major influences: homes are made warm and cozy for the freezing winter months—not just literally with log burners, but also through incorporating wood and natural materials. Here Niki Brantmark, owner of the interior design blog My Scandinavian Home, presents a wide-ranging collection of these beautiful homes and explores how the Scandinavian lifestyle is reflected in them all. The first chapter, Urban Living, features styles ranging from minimalist to bohemian, and pale palettes to dramatic dark colors. By contrast, the Country Homes tend to have a softer, calmer feel, through color and textiles, in line with a slower pace of life. Finally, the spectacular Rural Retreats include a mountain cabin, beach house, and rustic summer cottage, and demonstrate how having somewhere to escape to is so important to many Scandinavians. This collection of stunning interiors will put Scandi style within every reader’s reach.
The Swedish toy industry has long produced vast quantities of colorful, quality wooden items that reflect Scandinavian design and craft traditions. This superbly illustrated book, including specially commissioned photography, looks at over 200 years of Swedish toys, from historic dollhouses to the latest designs for children. Featuring rattles, full-size rocking horses, dollhouses, and building blocks to skis, sleds, and tabletop games with intricate moving parts, Swedish Wooden Toys also addresses images of Swedish childhood, the role of the beloved red Dala horse in the creation of national identity, the vibrant tradition of educational toys, and the challenges of maintaining craft manufacturing in an era of global mass-production. Published in association with the Bard Graduate Center Exhibition Schedule: Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs (06/18/14-01/11/15) Bard Graduate Center March 2015 Stockholm Summer 2015
In this comprehensive manual Jessica Ridley tells you everything you'll need to know to create a truly striking and creative doll's house in a wide variety of styles from American Country to Artist's Studio, Etruscan to Edwardian, Scottish Baronial to Scandinavian. Working on four façades and nineteen different rooms, she explains how to hand-paint eighteenth-century wallpaper, marbleize floors, wood-grain tables, gild picture-frames, upholster furniture, make miniature food, and much, much more. The step-by step instructions are clearly illustrated with more than 350 close-up full-colour photographs. Along the way, you will learn how to research authentic decor and how to stretch your powers of ingenuity by making the most of what is available: how, for example, to make chairs from pieces of champagne wire, a thatch roof from mop head, or medieval weapons from cocktail sticks. Both a practical manual and a beautifully illustrated sourcebook, The Decorated Doll's House offers ideas, instruction, and inspiration in a delightful introduction to the enchanting world of miniature interiors.
This book addresses a deceptively simple question: what accounts for the global success of A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen’s most popular play? Using maps, networks, and images to explore the world history of the play’s production, this question is considered from two angles: cultural transmission and adaptation. Analysing the play’s transmission reveals the social, economic, and political forces that have secured its place in the canon of world drama; a comparative study of the play’s 135-year production history across five continents offers new insights into theatrical adaptation. Key areas of research include the global tours of nineteenth-century actress-managers, Norway’s soft diplomacy in promoting gender equality, representations of the female performing body, and the sexual vectors of social change in theatre.
“Smart, funny and utterly engrossing…This unexpectedly rich sequel reminds us that houses tremble and sometimes fall when doors slam, and that there are living people within, who may be wounded or lost…Mr. Hnath has a deft hand for combining incongruous elements to illuminating ends.” —Ben Brantley, New York Times It has been fifteen years since Nora Helmer slammed the door on her stifling domestic life, when a knock comes at that same door. It is Nora, and she has returned with an urgent request. What will her sudden return mean to those she left behind? Lucas Hnath’s funny, probing, and bold play is both a continuation of Ibsen’s complex exploration of traditional gender roles, as well as a sharp contemporary take on the struggles inherent in all human relationships across time.
At the end of Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House, Nora Helmer walks away from her family and comfortable life. It is 1879, late on a winter's night in Norway. She's alone, with little money and few legal rights. Guided by instinct and sustained by will, Nora sets off on a journey that impoverishes and radicalizes her, then strands her on the harsh Minnesota prairie. She's searching for love, purpose, and her true self, but struggles to be honest in a hostile world. Meanwhile, in 1918, a young university student tries to escape her family's bourgeois conformity as she unravels her grandfather's hidden shame and the fate of a shadowy feminist who vanished years earlier. With this inventive work of historical fiction, Swallow answers a question that has dogged theater audiences for A Doll's House: whatever happened to Nora Helmer? Masterfully crafted and painstakingly researched, the twin story lines of Searching for Nora combine to tell a powerful tale of redemption as they unfold over four decades in the fjords of Norway and the unforgiving American frontier. AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: Wendy Swallow writes about women's challenges, now and in the tender past. A memoirist, journalist and professor, Swallow spent ten years working on Searching for Nora, traveling to Norway to interview Ibsen scholars and Norwegian historians, and driving across western Minnesota to hear the stories of immigrant grandparents and experience the wide, empty land. She is also the author of Breaking Apart: A Memoir of Divorce (Hyperion/Thea) and The Triumph of Love over Experience: A Memoir of Remarriage (Hyperion). Her work has been critically acclaimed by Publishers Weekly, Elle, Booklist, Newsday, and The Washington Post, among others, and reprinted in many magazines. She and her husband divide their time between Reno, Nevada, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. AUTHOR HOME: Reno, NV
Introduction to Nordic Cultures is an innovative, interdisciplinary introduction to Nordic history, cultures and societies from medieval times to today. The textbook spans the whole Nordic region, covering historical periods from the Viking Age to modern society, and engages with a range of subjects: from runic inscriptions on iron rings and stone monuments, via eighteenth-century scientists, Ibsen’s dramas and turn-of-the-century travel, to twentieth-century health films and the welfare state, nature ideology, Greenlandic literature, Nordic Noir, migration, ‘new’ Scandinavians, and stereotypes of the Nordic. The chapters provide fundamental knowledge and insights into the history and structures of Nordic societies, while constructing critical analyses around specific case studies that help build an informed picture of how societies grow and of the interplay between history, politics, culture, geography and people. Introduction to Nordic Cultures is a tool for understanding issues related to the Nordic region as a whole, offering the reader engaging and stimulating ways of discovering a variety of cultural expressions, historical developments and local preoccupations. The textbook is a valuable resource for undergraduate students of Scandinavian and Nordic studies, as well as students of European history, culture, literature and linguistics.
