Before Zacharias Topelius could enter a university he had to complete his matriculation examination, which he did on June 5th, 1833. His grade of cum laude approbatur was decidedly average, and is perhaps best viewed as a testament of the lax attitude young Topelius had towards his studies and not of his potential.

Zacharias Topelius was hired to edit Helsingfors Tidningar, a Swedish language newspaper, in December 1841. His salary was 200 silver roubles, which was not particularly high considering he was also required to pay the salary of his summer replacement.

In connection with Tsar Nicholas I’s visit to Helsinki in March, 1854, Zacharias Topelius was appointed professor extraordinary of Finnish history. The appointment was both surprising in that Topelius had not applied for the post, and exceptional in that it seemed tailor-made for him.

Zacharias Topelius Skrifter (ZTS) is a freely-available digital collection of the author’s writings, put together by the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland. The entire library of Topelius’s work, including previously unprinted material, will be available in a searchable digital database for the first time.