Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf was a renowned Swedish author born on November 20, 1858. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909. Lagerlöf published her first novel, Gösta Berling's Saga, at the age of 33. In 1914, she became the first woman to gain membership in the Swedish Academy.

Born in the forested countryside of Sweden, she was inspired by the classic Swedish fairytales she heard during her childhood. Despite challenges with her legs due to a congenital hip problem, she spent much of her early years reading books like the Bible. As a young woman, Lagerlöf worked as a teacher in southern Sweden for ten years.