Gösta Knutsson | |
|---|---|
 Gösta Knutsson in the 1950s. | |
| Born | Gösta Johansson (1908-10-12)12 October 1908 |
| Died | 4 April 1973(1973-04-04) (aged 64) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | University of Uppsala |
| Notable works | Pelle Svanslös |
Gösta Lars August Knutsson (original surnameJohansson; 12 October 1908 – 4 April 1973) was aSwedish radio producer and writer of a popular series of children's books about the catPelle Svanslös.
Gösta Knutsson was born in a middle-class family inStockholm and came to theUniversity of Uppsala as a student, remaining inUppsala for the rest of his life. After completing an M.A. degree, he was curator (chairman) of the Stockholm Nation and later chairman of theUppsala Student Union (1936–1938). He was also editor of the student union paperErgo 1940–42. During his time as student union chairman, he was also employed as head of the Uppsala office of the Swedish National Radio and remained there from 1936 until 1969. As such he introduced thequiz show in Sweden, with the first one recruiting the two teams from two of thestudent nations in Uppsala.
Knutsson is most remembered for his series ofchildren's books aboutPelle Svanslös,'Peter No-Tail', a good-hearted and often naïvecat whose tail had been bitten off by a rat when he was a kitten. The books contain a number of other cats such as Pelle's darlingMaja Gräddnos ('Mary Cream-nose') or his adversary, the bullyElaka Måns ('Mean Magnus'), who never fails to remind Pelle of his lack of a tail, and Måns' two followersBill andBull, who tend to repeat everything Måns says in fragmentary and garbled form. Theanthropomorphic cats mostly live in the area around thecathedral and the university in Uppsala, seen from a somewhat feline perspective.
Knutsson has said that the tailless cat Pelle was based on a real cat he had himself known for a summer in his childhood, but also that the cat was his ownalter ego. Maja Gräddnos is supposedly based on his own wife Erna (1926–2023). Måns is generically evil with elements fetched fromHitler andMussolini. The other cats were all caricatures of people among Knutsson's own circle of friends and acquaintances in Uppsala.
Pelle Svanslös made his public debut in a story told by Knutsson on radio in 1937, with the first book appearing in 1939. ThePelle Svanslös books have been reprinted in Swedish many times and have also been translated toFinnish,Danish,Norwegian,German,Latvian,Ukrainian,Polish andEnglish.[1]
As a nationally well-known and liked character, Pelle Svanslös has been used by the municipality of Uppsala for marketing purposes. There is a "Pelle Svanslös House" for children in Uppsala, and during summer the tourist office arranges daily Pelle Svanslös-related walks for children (and nostalgic adults).
The asteroid8534 Knutsson has been named by Uppsala astronomers in honour of Gösta Knutsson,[2] and other asteroids have been named after cats from his books:8535 Pellesvanslös,[3]8536 Måns,[4]8537 Billochbull,[5]8538 Gammelmaja (named after Gammel-Maja,'Old Mary', a wise old cat living in the cathedral)[6] and8539 Laban (after the cat Laban, who lives in the Observatory park and has also given name to one of the first computers of the Department of Astronomy).[7]
