With a combination of skillful writing and painting, Ella Leffland has developed into a great artist for decades. The 93–year-old American of Danish ancestry novelist is credited for Rumors of Peace. Her other books are The Knight, Death and the Devil, Love Out of Season, Last Courtesies, and Breath and Shadows.
Leffland continues to write stories that touch different aspects of life even though they are mostly fiction. These stories are both novels and short stories. For her works, Leffland has been recognized and received the 2014 Gina Berriault Awards from Fourteen Hills. Here is her story – from birth to her rise to fame, and her greatest books!
WWII Contributed to Shaping Her Mind
Ella Leffland was born in 1931 to Danish immigrants in Martinez, California. She was raised in the same town where she was born.
In 1939 when she was about 8 years old, WWII started and it lasted until 1945 when she was 14. At the time, she was already struggling with finding her place as a Danish in America, feeling both a sense of belonging and no sense of belonging.
In the middle of it all, Leffland’s feelings became intensified with the war. While dealing with that and the war becoming central to her childhood, she also had to deal with the stories of bombings and Nazi domination in Denmark.
Sad as it is for her, Ella channeled some of her feelings into great stories. For those who may have come across her books, it will be evident that she uses the theme of loneliness or isolation. For those who haven’t, the themes may be a little insight that may lead you to many of her works.
Let’s Take a Look at How Ella Leffland Went to the Oldest University in The West Coast
When Leffland completed high school, she wanted more in terms of education. This would lead her to attend San Jose State University (San Jose State or SJSU) in San Jose, California.
She graduated from the school in 1953, becoming one of the numerous famous alumni writers of the institution.
Even though Ella may have kept her life while in the college under wraps, there is a lot to know about her alumni.
SJSU was first founded in 1857 under a different name. It later changed to its current name and stands as the oldest public university on the West Coast as well as the founding campus of the California State University system.
The Danish Descent Had different careers Before She Became a Notable Writer
After she earned a degree, Ella Leffland started a job as a city hall reporter. She later became a copyeditor for San Francisco’s Sun Reporter.
Also, the author had other careers as a typist, sales clerk, researcher, and kitchen helper on a Norwegian tramp steamer.
Despite having some form of footing from all of the positions she held, she later focused on her writing.
Ella Leffland’s Best Novels Since She Started Writing at 10
The Martinez-born writer started writing at age 10 but her first work was a short story when she was 28.
Currently, she has no fewer than 5 novels and numerous other short stories. While all of her books are great in their own right, others have gained more attention than others, and others are also identified as the best of Ella Leffland.
In any case, here are the top of Leffland’s books in no particular order.
Mrs. Munck (1970)
This novel is one of the best that has been written by Leffland. It narrates the story of a widow who sets out to take revenge on her wheelchair-ridden father-in-law.
The vengeance is linked to the affair they had in her youth.
The book has received numerous high ratings from different sources. For instance, it has a customer review of 4.4 on 4 global ratings on Amazon.
This is not the climax! In 1995, Mrs. Munck was adapted into an American comedy film and directed by Diane Ladd. It featured the likes of Diane Ladd, Bruce Dern, Kelly Preston, Shelley Winters, Jim Walton, and Scott Fisher.
See Also: John Grisham Movies: 12 Best That Everyone Must See
Love Out of Season (1974)
The journey of love, compromise, and taking advantage of another is wrapped in Love Out of Season. The novel’s setting is San Francisco in the 1960s.
As it happens, they grew apart but later met again.
Cutting the story short, this novel was released in 1974 and remains one of the best of Leffland. It has racked as 4 out of 5 ratings on Amazon. It has been praised for its details and narration.
However, few reviews think the title of the novel is not in its entirety perfect for the story.
Rumors of Peace (1979)
If you have followed his article from the onset, then it is apparent that you came across a part where we discussed Ella and her identity as a Danish woman finding her place as an American, especially during WWII. Her experience as a young girl puts Rumors of Peace in a place of harboring both fiction and a little autobiography.
Ella tells the story, fixing her gaze on a 10-year-old Suse Hansen and her experience with war and many things in between.
Suse gets exposed to stories of war and while others quickly move past it, she finds it difficult to adjust. Then, she deals with other complexities of life in friendships, siblings, being away from home, and sexual awakening.
The novel is great enough to be termed
an extraordinary coming-of-age story chronicling the loss of American innocence through the voice of one remarkable young girl
by Everand. On the platform, the book receives 3 ratings out of 5 from 17 reviews. It earned 5 stars from 5 reviews on Thrift Books and 4 stars from 175 ratings on Amazon.
The book has also been called “classic” on numerous occasions.
The Knight, Death and the Devil (1990)
In The Knight, Death and the Devil, Leffland tells a historical story, detailing how Germany got into WWI, what happened afterward, and the rise of Adolf Hitler. Leffland tells the story, focusing on the life of Herman Goring.
She tells Goring’s story up until his suicide. She further finds a way to detail other aspects of the story using both major and minor characters interestingly.
This is easily her longest story but if speaking based on reviews, the over 700 pages book is worth its length. In fact, a reviewer on GoodReads has this to say about it:
At 950 pages, it’s satisfyingly long. I awoke every day eager to read more.
In a nutshell, Leffland gives herself to the world as a writer who has touched on different aspects of storytelling. The good news is that while she gives a sneak peek into her thoughts through pages and inks, she has been appreciated for decades.
As earlier stated, Ella Leffland’s books are great in their unique ways but our ratings are based on the reviews found on the internet. Her other great books are Breath and Shadows (1999) and Last Courtesies and Other Stories (1980).
