www.svensk-inspired.us
My hobby is writing books.
Welcome to my site. Although I always loved to write, I never thought I'd be a published author. Starting relatively late in life, I still had eleven nonfiction books behind me by 2003 and was itching to write a novel. To my surprise, I won a novel-writing contest, and Maiden of the Titanic was published in 2007. The sequel, Hero of the Titanic, was followed by Not my time to die: Titanic and the Swedes on board, and Titanic Sailing Again, but then I was done with the Titanic. Why not romance? The 2022 book is a cyberthriller. Stay tuned.
My 21 nonfiction books are all about subjects related to Swedish immigration to America, for which I have been recognized in various ways. Many of my books are available on www.amazon.com, as well as in my native Sweden and other countries. I love to read, write, visit my family, and hear from my readers. You can find me on Facebook with an old typewriter as the profile picture. I wrote my first manuscript on it with carbon paper. Note, the Swedish characters, å,ä,ö, on the keyboard.
A glimpse of my bookcase
Listing of books published, 1981-2022. For more information, see http://lillysetterdahl.blogspot.com
Lilly Setterdahl Books
Nonfiction:
Swedish-American Newspapers: A Guide to the microfilms held by Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center (1981)
Bror Johansson’s Chicago. Co-authored (1985)
A Pioneer Lutheran Ministry: L. P. Esbjorn and his Family in Andover, Illinois (1988)
Memories Preserved: The Inventing Bostroms and Guide to Interviews with Swedish Americans. Coauthored (1988)
Memories Preserved, Vol. II. Scandinavians in Alabama and Guide to Interviews with Swedish Americans. Coauthored. (1992)
A Century of Song: American Union of Swedish Singers 1892-1992 (1992)
Rockford Swedes: American Stories. Coauthored (1993).
Minnesota Swedes: The Emigration from Trolle Ljungby to Goodhue County 1855-1912 (1996)
Minnesota Swedes, Vol I: The Emigration from Trolle Ljungby to Goodhue County 1955-1912. Second edition revised published as a printed book and E-Book (2015)
Minnesota Swedes: Volume II: Trolle Ljungby Families in Goodhue County 1855-1912 (1999)
I Emigranternas spår: Människor vi mött, 1959-1995. (In Swedish, 2002)
Swedes in Moline, Illinois: 1847-2002 (2003). Available from bokus.se
Growing up in Sweden: In the Shadow of World War II (2008). Out-of-print. Also, as E-Book, 2015
Chicago Swedes: They spoke from the heart (2010). Out-of-print. Also, as E-Book, 2016
Not my time to die: Titanic and the Swedes on board (2012)
True Immigrant Stories. The Swedes of Cleveland, Ohio 1873-2013 (2014)
Rockford Swedes: American Stories, republished, 2016 with a new cover as E-Book
Documenting America’s Swedish Immigrants: Lennart Setterdahl’s Life and Work, 2019.
Swedish-American Portraits 1972-1994: Photographed by Lennart Setterdahl, 2020.
Bishop Hill Reframed: Voices from the past, Bishop Hill Heritage Association, Bishop Hill, IL, 2021
Fiction:
Maiden of the Titanic (2007) out-of-print. Republished as E-book.
Hero of the Titanic (2011) Sequel to Maiden of the Titanic. $10.00. Republished as E-book.
Second Love After 50 (Paper, 2015). Contemporary. E-book, 2016.
Katrin, almost American, a Swedish-American Immigration Novel (2017)
Titanic Sailing Again, an epic novel, sequel to Hero of the Titanic. (Short stories), 2019.
Until the lights come back on, a cyber thriller, 2022
Elisabeth and the Nobleman, a novel, 2023