Dagmar Edqvist

Dagmar Ingeborg Edqvist (20 April 1903 – 21 January 2000) was a Swedish writer and screenwriter. Best known for her works on women empowerment, her novels have been adapted for film and the stage.

Early life Dagmar Edqvist was born on 20 April 1903 in Visby, Sweden. She was the daughter of Hermanna Kroksted and Hjalmar Jansson, a lecturer in history. Jansson was also politically active, and served as a town councillor. Edqvist received her education privately and earned her school-leaving certificate in 1922. She married Torgny Edqvist, who was 15 years her senior. At the time, Torgny Edqvist worked as an associate teacher at the Visby school. In 1927, she went to France to continue her studies. In 1932, Edqvist and her husband moved to Malmö, where their daughter Suzanne was born in 1934. Widowed in 1964, she married ethnologist Olof Hasslöf five years later.

Career Edqvist worked as a secretary at the St Olof hospital in Visby. In 1932, her first novel, Kamrathustru, was published by Bonnier AB. Kamrathustru explored themes on the equal opportunities for women by introducing its protagonist Ebba Garland as an astute, independent, and level-headed character. The book was her first to address women empowerment and feminist issues, and received rapid recognition. During the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, she became one of the most read authors in Sweden, and were translated into several languages. Bonnier published 24 novels in this period, releasing almost one novel each year.

Later years Edqvist died in Luleå in on 21 February 2000.