Jerusalem

They sold their farms, their homes, their pasts. They believed God was calling them home.

Selma Lagerlöf's epic two-part novel is a sweeping chronicle of faith, doubt, and the radical sacrifice demanded by religious conviction—based on the true story of a Swedish farming community that sold everything and emigrated to the Holy Land.

The novel opens in the quiet farmlands of Dalarna, a region of deep forests and ancient traditions. The Ingmarssons are the leading family of the parish, prosperous and respected. But a religious revival sweeps through the community, led by a charismatic preacher who urges them to abandon worldly possessions and follow Christ literally. One by one, they sell their ancestral farms. They break the bonds of family and tradition. They set out for Jerusalem, convinced they are building the New Kingdom.

Lagerlöf follows the fates of several families: the Ingmarssons, who struggle with the legacy of a father murdered by his own son; Gertrude, who gives up her child for the sake of her faith; and Hellgum, the preacher whose certainty masks a tortured soul. The first part of the novel, set in Sweden, is a masterwork of psychological realism, exploring the tensions between tradition and renewal, faith and doubt, love and duty. The second part follows the emigrants to Jerusalem, where they discover that the Holy Land is not the paradise they imagined, and that God's will is not always easy to discern.

This is Lagerlöf at her most ambitious and compassionate: a novel about the beauty and terror of absolute faith, the cost of following a vision, and the ordinary people who are asked to do extraordinary things.

• First published in two parts in 1901–1902, based on a true historical event, the emigration of a Swedish religious community to Jerusalem in 1896

• One of Lagerlöf's most acclaimed works, praised for its psychological depth and epic scope

• The novel that helped secure Lagerlöf's Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909

Available in multiple formats:

• Paperback & Hardcover: Beautifully designed print editions presenting the complete, unabridged text made to last.

• Ebook: DRM-free EPUB compatible with Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and all major e-readers.

• Audiobook: Professionally narrated, complete and unabridged, available on all major audiobook platforms.

A beautifully crafted edition for your shelf, your device, or your ears, or the perfect gift for anyone who knows that the hardest pilgrimage is not to a foreign land, but to a faith that asks you to give up everything you love.

About the Author

Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) was a Swedish novelist and short story writer, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, receiving the award in 1909. She was also the first woman elected to the Swedish Academy, joining in 1914. Born on the Mårbacka estate in Värmland, she drew deeply on the landscapes, folklore, and peasant culture of her native region. Jerusalem (1901–1902) was based on the true story of the "Jerusalem pilgrims," a group of Swedish farmers who emigrated to the Holy Land in 1896. Lagerlöf traveled to Jerusalem herself to research the novel, interviewing survivors of the pilgrimage. Her other masterpieces include Gösta Berling's Saga (1891), Invisible Links (1894), The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906–1907), The Treasure (1904), The Emperor of Portugallia (1914), and The Girl From Marsh Croft (1908). She died at Mårbacka in 1940.