Ronja Rövardotter
First edition
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| Author | Astrid Lindgren |
|---|---|
| Original title | Ronja Rövardotter |
| Illustrator | Ilon Wikland |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Publisher | Rabén & Sjögren |
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Publication date
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1981 |
| Pages | 235 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 9462379 |
| LC Class | MLCS 82/9917 |
Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (Swedish: Ronja Rövardotter) is a children's fantasy book by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, first published in 1981.
The book has been adapted as a prize-winning 1984 film, a German musical, and a Japanese anime. It has been translated into at least 39 languages.
Ronia is a girl growing up among a clan of robbers living in a castle in the woodlands of early-Medieval Scandinavia. As the only child of Matt, 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 Ronia's birth. Ronia grows up with Matt's clan of robbers as her only company, until a rival robber group led by Borka moves into the other half of the castle, exacerbating the longstanding rivalry between the two bands.
One day, Ronia sees Birk Borkason, the only son of Borka, idling by the chasm. 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 later on become friends.
The following 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 to Birk through a secret passageway. They get very close but both know that they cannot tell their families. Later that year, Birk is captured 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 acknowledge her as his daughter. Birk and Ronia run away to the woods, where they live in a cave and experience several harrowing adventures with the wood's indigenous wildlife, including trolls, forest gnomes, and harpies. Ultimately their families repent of their feuding, and everyone is reunited, but the story concludes with both Ronia and Birk deciding that the robber's life is not for them.
In 1983, Trina Schart Hyman illustrated her own version of the book, which is published by Puffin Books.
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Wikipedia