Letters of the poet and district magistrate Jón Thoroddsen
The Manuscript Collection recently received some letters from the papers of Elín Jónsdóttir (1841–1934), daughter of the poet and district magistrate Jón Thoroddsen (1818–1868). They are five letters from Jón to Elín, written in 1861–1865. There is also a letter from Jón to Ólöf Hallgrímsdóttir Thorlacius (1816–1854), the mother of his child, written in July 1842, as well as other letters. Jón is best known for his novel Piltur og stúlka (Lad and Lass), first published in 1850 and often regarded as the first Icelandic novel written in the modern form. The letters range widely: in his letter to Ólöf, Jón writes among other things about planned legislation on equal inheritance rights for men and women, which he saw as a step forward, “a true gospel for womankind”. The letters have been given the shelfmark Lbs 5468 4to.
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