Zacharias Topelius

Zachris (Zacharias, Z., Sakari) Topelius 14 January 1818 – 12 March 1898) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history in Swedish.

As a journalist and author, Zachris Topelius took stands on social issues and moulded public opinion. As a university teacher within the framework of the old system of primary and secondary schools, he exercised a long-lasting moral influence, both through his internationally known books of fairy tales and his historical novels, especially Fältskärns berättelser ('Tales of a Barber-Surgeon')

Zachris Topelius had an extraordinarily versatile and extremely productive mind. His influence as an educator and moralist was already considerable in his earlier days, and it reached its peak in his old age. It remained strong, especially within the old system of primary and secondary schools and thanks to his internationally known fairy-story collections and his historical novels, in particular Fältskärns berättelser (Tales of a Barber-Surgeon). In the late 20th century Topelius also attracted interest as a nostalgic author when Boken om vårt land ('A Book about our Country') and Finland framstäldt i teckningar ('Finland Presented in Drawings') were republished, and the Topelius Year celebrated in 1998 to mark the centenary of his death was a great success.