| Laila Hirvisaari | |
| Birth Date: | 7 June 1938 |
| Birth Place: | Viipuri, Finland |
| Death Place: | Helsinki, Finland |
| Spouse: | Heikki Hietamies, m. 1958 |
| Other Names: | Laila Hietamies (1958–2004) |
Laila Ellen Kaarina Hirvisaari (7 June 1938 – 16 June 2021),[1] also known as Laila Hietamies, was a Finnish author and writer. By 2008, more than four million copies of her works had been sold.[2]
When Laila Hirvisaari was three years old, her father Aarne died in the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union, so she had no memories of him.[3] After the war, she and her family were evacuated first to Lappeenranta and later to the western part of Finland.
In 1958, she married Heikki Hietamies, who later also became a well-known Finnish author. He is also known for presenting the Tangomarkkinat ("Tango fair"), a major tango competition (1985–1999). [3] [4]
Laila Hietamies's first novel Lehmusten kaupunki ("City of the Lindens") was published in 1972 and began a series of novels about Lappeenranta; [3] the seventh part was published in 2004.[5] Hietamies wrote many other novel series, mostly about Karelia and the consequences of the wars of Finland in the 1940s. She wrote also books about a Russian princess, Sonja, during the Russian Revolution.
On 9 December 2004, Laila Hietamies, along with her three cousins, changed their name back to the maiden name Hirvisaari and from then on, her books were published under that name.[3]
Hirvisaari received many respected Finnish literature awards but never the most prestigious one, the Finlandia Prize.[5] Her novel about Catherine the Great] (Minä, Katariina), however, was nominated for the Finlandia in 2011.[6]
Hirvisaari wrote 34 novels and many short stories and plays. A movie was based on her novel Hylätyt talot, autiot pihat ("Abandoned houses, empty yards") in 2000.[7] Several of her books have been translated into other languages:[5]