Laura Goodman Salverson
Laura Goodman Salverson was a Canadian author born in 1890 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to an Icelandic immigrant family. Her childhood was marked by poverty and frequent relocations across the Canadian and American Midwest, which shaped her writing perspective. Despite limited formal education due to family responsibilities, she developed a rich literary voice, partly influenced by her mother's affluent background and her father's intellectual pursuits. Salverson's first and most notable novel, *The Viking Heart*, published in 1923, chronicles the immigrant experience of Icelandic Canadians, reflecting on their struggles and aspirations.
Her work often intertwines Icelandic sagas with popular adventure and romance genres, providing a unique female perspective in a narrative landscape predominantly shaped by male authors. Critics have praised her for her vivid prose, strong character development, and the emotional depth she brings to the portrayal of women's experiences in challenging circumstances. Throughout her career, she received multiple accolades, including two Governor's General Awards for fiction. Salverson also published an autobiography, *Confessions of an Immigrant's Daughter*, in 1939. She passed away in 1970, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate in Canadian literature.
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Subject Terms
Laura Goodman Salverson
Author
- Born: December 9, 1890
- Birthplace: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Died: July 13, 1970
Biography
Canadian author Laura Goodman Salverson wrote novels inspired by her impoverished life on the Manitoba frontier. She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1890, into an Icelandic immigrant family who moved around the Canadian and American Midwest for most of her childhood. Salverson was primarily educated in the Duluth, Minnesota, public schools, which she attended sporadically because she needed to work to help support her family. Although her formal education was limited, her mother came from an affluent and important clerical family and her father was an intellectual idealist, acquainted with, although not entirely on good terms with, the renowned Icelandic-language poet Stephan G. Stephansson. Although her life was difficult and unstable, the young Salverson was able to read and learn much at home.
Salverson published her first and most popular novel, The Viking Heart, in 1923, after her marriage in 1913 and the birth of her only son, George, in 1916. The novel was inspired by her interaction with the Canadian Authors’ Association, a group started in the late 1910’s by a group of Canadian academics, including Austin Bothwell, head of the English department at Central Collegiate Institute in Regina, Saskatchewan. The group was formed to support writers and further the development of a Canadian national literature, and Bothwell and others encouraged Salverson, who possessed a distinctive voice and perspective, to document her experiences and the circumstances of Icelandic Canadians. A multigenerational story exploring the psychological hardships of immigrant life, The Viking Heart begins with the story of Icelandic immigration to Canada following the 1876 eruption of Mount Hecla and concludes with the tale of the original immigrants grandchildren.
These Icelandic roots play a significant role in most of Salverson’s writing, and some critics consider her prose an attempt to synthesize the Icelandic saga with both the popular adventure genre and the romance. Although her prose is often flowery, the value she placed on making her prose beautiful is obvious, and critics also note that because of her choice of genres, her writing infuses a female perspective into a narrative tradition dominated by male voices. Salverson’s writing shows tremendous sympathy for the toll taken on women’s lives and spirits by impoverishment and the precariousness of frontier life.
Several of her novels are historical treatments inspired by Norse and Icelandic legends and folk tales as well as by North American historical events, including her narration in Immortal Rock: The Saga of the Kensington Stone of a purported visit to the Midwest by fourteenth century Norse explorers. Critics praise her novels for their picturesque sensitivity to place as well as their acute sense of story and strong character development. Salverson received numerous awards, including two Governor’s General Awards for fiction in the late 1930’s. Immortal Rock received the Ryerson Fiction Award in 1954. She published an autobiography, Confessions of an Immigrant’s Daughter, in 1939, that described her life up until the publication of The Viking Heart. Salverson died in 1970.