Why a Booktrail?
1880: The first novel in a thrilling Norwegian historical trilog
The Bell in the Lake
What you need to know before your trail
Norway, 1880. Winter is hard in Butangen, a village secluded at the end of a valley. Then Pastor Kai Schweigaard takes over the small parish, which is old and historu=ical and has some history. Some say the bells in the tower s hold supernatural powers. The villagers are wary of the pastor and his ideas for change.
When a stranger arrives from Dresden, with grand plans for the church itself, the villagers are worried.
Then the bells begin to ring . . .
Travel Guide
Travel to Butangen, Norway BookTrail style
Butangen sits in the Birkenese area of Norway
The lake has frozen, and for months the ground is too hard to bury the dead. Astrid Hekne dreams of a life beyond all this, beyond marriage, children, and working the land to the end of her days.
Church
Pastor Kai Schweigaard takes over the small parish, with its 700-year-old stave church carved with pagan deities. The two bells in the tower were forged by Astrid’s forefather in the sixteenth century, in memory of conjoined twins Halfrid and Gunhild Hekne. They are said to hold supernatural powers.
The author mentions in their author’s note that the story about the sisters and the bells is inspired by local stories from the villages of Brekkom, Tromsnes and Vekkom. Many names have been taken from Gudbrandsdal and some farms in Favang. Works by Gunnar Bugge, Peter Anker and Hakon Christie were important to the sections concerning church history.
Lars Mytting, the author was a novelist and journalist who was himself botn in Favang in 1968. The Bell in the Lake is the first in a trilogy.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Bell in the Lake
Destination/location: Norway, Butangen Author/guide: Lars Mytting Departure Time: 1879
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