Kaari Utrio’s oeuvre is one of a kind. Her historical novels and non-fiction have shed light particularly on the history of women, children and everyday life—themes which had received little historical attention before her.

In her profile on Kirjasampo, a Finnish literary website, it is stated that “Utrio’s influence…

Kaari Utrio got interested in history when she was seven and happened to come across the book Jokamiehen maailmanhistoria (‘Everyman’s world history’).

“I had always loved stories, and what is history but stories?”

In primary school Utrio wanted to be a history teacher and couldn’t see herself in any other…

Kaari Utrio recalls how she took a nun to the University’s Faculty of Theology.

“For the subsidiary component of my degree I studied ecclesiastical history in the Faculty of Theology, since it could hardly be avoided if you wanted to have an understanding of the Middle Ages. I had a…

At this age the dreams are not about me, except the one where I get to die with my boots on. They have to do with my children and grandchildren’s wellbeing. I hope they have developed a degree of self-possession, that they experience life as a positive thing, that things…