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. Having graduated with a Master’s degree Topelius was in fact pursuing a career as a teacher, or at least his mother saw teaching as a more suitable profession for her son. Catharina Sofia Topelius was not at all convinced by the career choice of her son, and made her views on the matter clear. His career was of particular concern because he was engaged to be married and therefore needed a salary that would support a family. The young reporter, however, proved himself to be a skilful wordsmith and thus able to attract new subscribers for the newspaper.

Topelius, who as a young student had immersed himself in a wide range of literature, now brought his literary expertise to bear as a writer to produce massive quantities of serials and stories for the newspaper. This was because Topelius did not settle for copying and pasting stories from other newspapers to put an issue together, a practice all too common at the time. He worked tirelessly to produce new material, fact and fiction alike.

An early serial that was to prove immensely popular was Leoboldinerbreven, which appeared between 1842 and 1853. It was a series of commentaries and reflections on Finland written in the form of letters to a fictional compatriot and an officer serving in the Russian army, Lieutenant Leopold, and during the last four years of the serial to the lieutenant’s cousin Leopoldine in Alaska.

Topelius did not view his work at the newspaper as any great or too serious literary deed. He experimented freely with different genres and styles—everything from horror and picaresque stories to longer and more ambitious historical ones. Also serialised in Helsingfors Tidningar between 1851 and 1866 was Väskärin kertomuksia, an enduringly popular work in Finland where an old military surgeon recounts the story of two Finnish families.

His hard work paid off. The circulation of the newspaper more than doubled over a ten-year period, rising from 741 in 1842 to 1600 in 1852. As a result Topelius saw an increase in his salary. Displaying a degree of foresight, as early as 1843 he had tied his salary to the number of subscribers. By 1845 his salary had risen to 500 roubles, similar to that of a junior lecturer. At the time of his resignation from the newspaper in 1860 his salary of 2,500 roubles was comparable to one enjoyed by a senator. On a national level this meant that his earnings were exceptionally high. As a point of comparison, a farm hand that Topelius’ mother hired in 1845 had a salary of about 57 roubles, including lodging, food and clothing.

The press in Finland underwent a period of rapid expansion during Topelius’ tenure at Helsingfors Tidningar: both the number of newspapers and their circulation saw a noticeable increase. During his 19 years as a journalist Topelius had the chance to both observe the growth of the bourgeois public and to join their ranks, as well as give up on his plans of becoming a teacher.

Sources and selected literature

• Nyberg, Paul. 1949. Zachris Topelius. En biografisk skildring (‘A biographical depiction’). Helsinki: Söderströms.
• Topelius, Zachris. 2003. Leopoldinerbrev. Correspondance från Helsingfors (‘The Leopoldine letters, correspondence from Helsinki’), utg. av Clas Zilliacus, Helsingfors: Schildts.
• Topelius, Zacharias. 1922. Självbiografiska anteckningar (‘Autobiographical notes’), ed. by Paul Nyberg. Helsinki: Schiildts.
• Topelius, Zacharias. 2010. Ljungblommor (‘Heather flowers’), ed. by Carola Herberts in collaboration with Clas Zilliacus. Zacharias Topelias Skifter I, SSLS 742. Helsinki: Society for Swedish Literature in Finland.
• Topelias, Zacharias. 2011. Finland framställdt i teckningar (‘Finnish Scenery in Drawings’), ed. by Jens Grandell and Rainer Knapas. Zacharias Topelias Skifter XII, SSLS 747. Helsinki: Society for Swedish Literature in Finland.
• Topelias, Zacharias. 2012. Novellar (‘Short stories’), ed. by Pia Forssell. Zacharias Topelias Skifter IV, SSLS 740. Helsinki: Society for Swedish Literature in Finland.
• Topelias, Zacharias. 2013. Hertiginnan af Finland och andra historiska noveller (‘The Duchess of Finland and other stories’), ed. by Pia Forssell. Zacharias Topelias Skifter V, SSLS 782. Helsinki: Society for Swedish Literature in Finland.
• Vasenius, Valfrid. Zacharias Topelius. Hans lif och skaldegärning I–VI (‘His life and poetry I–VI’). Helsinki: Edlunds  I–III (1912–1918), Schildts IV–VI (1924–30) and Stockholm: Bonniers I–V (1913–1927).