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4. Atos

Tove has been in a relationship with politician and newspaper editor Atos Wirtanen for over a year. Read by Sarah Lambie.

Tove Jansson decribes Atos Wirtanen, author, politician, journalist and newspaper editor, in 1944. They have been a couple for over a year.

Out of the thousands of letters Moomin creator Tove Jansson wrote, a cache remains that she addressed to her family, her dearest confidantes, and her lovers, both male and female.

Into these, she spilled her innermost thoughts, defended her ideals and revealed her heart.

To read these letters is both an act of startling intimacy and a rare privilege.

Penned with grace and humour, Letters from Tove offers an almost seamless commentary on Tove Jansson's life as it unfolds within Helsinki's bohemian circles and her island home.

Spanning 50 years between her art studies and the height of Moomin fame, we hear the bleakness of war, the hopes for love that were dashed and renewed, and her determined attempts to establish herself as an artist.

Translated from the Swedish by Sarah Death.

Abridged by Polly Coles

Read by Sarah Lambie

Producer: Clive Brill

A Brill production for ±«Óãtv Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2019.

14 minutes

Last on

Fri 16 Feb 2024 02:00

Broadcasts

  • Thu 19 Dec 2019 09:45
  • Fri 20 Dec 2019 00:30
  • Thu 30 Dec 2021 14:00
  • Fri 31 Dec 2021 02:00
  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 07:00
  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 12:00
  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 17:00
  • Fri 16 Feb 2024 02:00